Brioso
by Carlo Santos
Summary: A successful showing at KCON 2014 when invited by OGN to play there leads to Cloud 9 rubbing shoulders with K-Pop idols, including the legends of Girls' Generation (So Nyuh Shi Dae / SNSD), which sparks an unlikely but genuine friendship that leads all the way into the 2014 World Championships. Rated for censored profanity. Includes some original characters and songfic elements.
1. KCON: Collision of Worlds

Hi there! Glad to be back – and I'm trying writing an idea I definitely wouldn't have thought of when I was last here, but I hope you guys enjoy it! I've taken a very long break from writing because of other things going on, but I got back into it after discussing two other interests – _League of Legends_ and K-Pop – and also how they've got a whole lot of interesting links. I then got the idea to write a story with both my favorite _League_ team in Cloud 9 and my favorite K-Pop group in Girls' Generation after...  
-Meeting other SONEs and K-Pop fans while sharing Girls' Generation music via donations on Sneaky's Twitch stream.  
-The fact that Cloud 9 actually played at KCON 2014, where Girls' Generation also performed, as part of the OGN _League of Legends_ Champions Festival. C9 has the photos with IU, Teen Top and VIXX to prove it, and I wondered what could have happened if they'd met SNSD too and used that as my starting point.

I also want to say since I'm back that provided I don't have writer's block after finishing the main body of this, I will look to add more to my unfinished stories. I also did consider submitting this to the Miscellaneous Plays / Musicals section sinc ethat's where we've had the bulk of the K-Pop stories on so far, but it doesn't have as much traffic as the _League_ section and it would also be the first crossover involving _League_ and Misc. Plays / Musicals.

 _ **Disclaimer :**_ _I own no trademarks related to Girls' Generation, Cloud 9, SM Entertainment, Riot Games or_ _League of Legends_ _._

 ** _Major Characters  
_** ** _Cloud 9_ **_**League of Legends**  
Actual Players & Staff_  
 **Hai** Du Lam (Mid Laner, Captain)  
Zach " **Sneaky** " Scuderi (AD Carry)  
Will " **Meteos** " Hartman (Jungler)  
An " **Balls** " Van Le (Top Laner)  
Daerek " **LemonNation** " Hart (Support)

 _Original Characters_  
Phillip **Carlo** Santos (Top Laner, my character)  
Caroline **Aurora** Lea (Support, based on a friend of mine who plays _League_ , and the only Canadian on the team)

 ** _ ** _Girls' Generation (_** So Nyuh Shi Dae / SNSD)_** _\- entire OT9:  
_ **Tiffany** Hwang / Hwang Miyoung  
 **Jessica** Jung / Jung Sooyeon  
Kim **Taeyeon**  
Im **Yoona**  
Lee Sunkyu ( **Sunny** )  
Seo Joohyun ( **Seohyun** )  
Kim **Hyoyeon**  
Kwon **Yuri**  
Choi **Sooyoung**

 _ **Additional Background**  
_ Ahead of Cloud 9 playing at All-Stars (now divided into the Mid-Season Invitational, or MSI, and All-Stars) 2014 in Paris, not only is Hai hospitalized with a collapsed lung, but LemonNation is also hospitalized after a freak accident breaks his arm. As stand-ins, Cloud 9 calls up two players who have played on their Tempest sister team in the Challenger Series: support Aurora and mid laner Carlo, both of whom are also K-Pop fans. The team shocks all comers and wins the All-Star Invitational, and as a result, they elect to have Aurora and Carlo become starters for the NA LCS Summer Split, with Carlo swapping to top laner and LemonNation also becoming a coach in addition to a substitute. When the team is invited to play at KCON, they hold first place in the NA LCS and are tipped by many to win their third straight championship ** _._**

* * *

 _ **KCON 2014  
Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, Los Angeles, California, USA  
August 9th**_

It was not long after Girls' Generation had performed at KCON as one of the headline acts, and Tiffany Hwang was anxiously searching around for a wallet she had lost just before their performance, when she had gone to buy water for some of the other members while on a pre-performance walk.

As she turned around a corner, she saw a pretty and fair-skinned girl who looked familiar. She was wearing a skirt that went past her knees and dark blue Mary Janes and had long blonde hair with tips in a shade of blue slightly darker than her shirt, which bore a logo and the name "Cloud 9 HyperX". Close by her was an Asian boy with short black gelled hair and slightly tanned skin wearing tan khakis, black Nikes and the same shirt, and in his hands was the wallet she was seeking. Both were anxiously looking around.

"Excuse me, is there anyone who lost a wallet?" He was asking, evidently worried about returning it to its owner. At that moment, the blonde girl close to him turned her back.

Relieved and excited, Tiffany immediately rushed over to him.

* * *

Whilst the rest of the team had been meeting IU, Teen Top and VIXX, I had found the wallet lying on the floor. I hadn't even looked at its contents thoroughly for any clues as to who the owner might be - the last thing I wanted was for the person to find me at that moment and think I was a thief. Aurora had offered to go with me to look for who it belonged to - or give it to Lost & Found if it took too long. Neither of us was counting on me getting surprised - ganked, if you will - by a very attractive lady who was still wearing the black and white dress I'd just seen her wearing onstage.

"Oh, thank you!" She exclaimed. "I'm sorry - I was just worried sick about it because I went onstage without knowing if it had been recovered."

"It's okay - I'm just glad we could help!" I said instinctively, before I realized just who she was and simultaneously got chills and felt my heart race.

"Oh, my God...Tiffany _noona_ from Girls' Generation?" I managed to say.

"Yes, I am!" She said, giving me the famous eye smile that made people's hearts - mine included - skip a beat. Then she asked, "Carlo from Cloud 9?"

"Yes! But how the heck do _you_ know?" I knew I was wearing the team shirt, but I was bewildered at knowing one of my favorite artists/idols knew who I was.

"Don't you know? When you beat SKT to win All-Stars, it was big news in Korea. Sica and I decided to start watching you guys in the LCS when we could and we sometimes watch yours and Aurora's streams. Thanks for playing our music to support us!"

This was true - while streaming, Aurora and I had made it our habit to play K-Pop to the point that we had been recognized as not just fans but K-Pop friendly streamers who had folks donating on Twitch to ask if we could play this or that. We half-joked (because we knew it was also true) that we used our streams as personal radio stations as well, and so we'd happily played _Genie_ , _Run Devil Run, Kissing You_ and _The Boys_ , among other songs, for sizable audiences, even though Meteos and especially Sneaky remained our most popular streamers.

That said, though, I was astounded to have Tiffany giving me a quick but tight hug - accidentally, almost _too_ tight.

"Oh, you're too kind! Easy, though...Fany _noona!"_ I said, having the air squeezed out of me for an instant.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" She responded. "I didn't hurt you too much, did I?"

"No, don't worry, you didn't." I assured her. Then I tried to make light of it and said, "Mind you, and here I was worrying about getting overexcited."

We both shared a laugh as Aurora came rushing back, having heard the shouts.

"Carlo! Are you all - _Oh, my God!_ " She started concerned and finished with a squeal as she saw Tiffany. She knew who she was instantly, but she literally stunned into silence. Her eyes were wide as her hands flew to her mouth and stayed there.

"Hello, Aurora." Tiffany said kindly. "I'm glad to meet you!"

"F-Fany _unnie_?" Aurora managed to say, almost squeaking.

"That's me!" Tiffany replied, as I handed her back her lost wallet.

"Wait, that was _your_ wallet?" Aurora asked, astounded, before saying, "I'm so glad we were able to help!"

"You're not going to believe this, but she was just telling me that she started watching us after what we did at All-Stars. She's

also heard of us playing K-Pop, including their music, on stream." I said.

"Hey, she's not the only one. Way to go so far, Aurora - and I'm glad to meet you too!" Another female voice said.

We turned to see that Jessica had arrived. Tiffany looked from her to Aurora and me and smiled, while the two of us had another heart attack.

"No way. Her _too_?" Aurora was almost hysterical from excitement by now, and I could understand why - Jessica was her favorite.

"Oh yes, her too." Tiffany said, and she and I both nodded with big grins on our faces.

"Oh...Sica _unnie!"_ Aurora cried, throwing her arms around her just as Jessica opened hers. She was unable to contain tears of joy as she managed to say... _"Saranghaeyo..."_

"Oh, Aurora- _ya_ , _saranghaeyo_." Jessica said, visibly moved as she hugged her back. They came apart briefly, and she said, "We're glad you're supporting us - keep supporting us too and let's keep winning, all right?"

"Let's do it." Aurora said, wiping away her happy tears.

Jessica gave her one more squeeze and then turned to me to give me a hug as well. "That goes for you too, Carlo - I'm glad I get to meet you too!"

" _Annyeong haseyo_ , Jessica _noona_." I said, doing my best to keep my wits about me and pronounce and articulate properly. "We're all over the moon about this - before we get any further, we saw you gals onstage and you guys were fantastic. Lived up to the hype and then some!"

"Thank you very much!" Jessica replied. Then she heard footsteps, looked over and back at us, and her smile grew as she added. "Oh, don't look now, but here come the girls."

Sure enough, the other six Girls' Generation members who were there that day were approaching. Aurora's hands went to her mouth again and I was merely able to mouth, "Oh, my God." Seeing how overwhelmed we were, Jessica supportively gave Aurora a sideways hug while Tiffany took my shoulder.

"It's okay, we got it!" Tiffany said, raising the wallet. "These two found it and were trying to return it."

"Yay!" Hyoyeon cheered. Then she looked again at us and asked, "Hang on...that's Carlo and Aurora from Cloud 9 _League_ , isn't it?"

"It is! Oh, that's right, they were playing here today as well!" Yuri asked.

"Did well too. At this rate, we'll be seeing them come to Korea for Worlds!" Taeyeon said, making Aurora and me go red but also smile.

As if that wasn't enough, our five original members - Hai, Sneaky, Meteos, LemonNation and Balls - also arrived at about the same time, also wearing pants and team shirts. Sneaky and LemonNation were also wearing white C9 hoodies.

"Wait, what the hell...?" Sneaky managed to say as he saw everybody.

"Whoa!" Balls and LemonNation said almost simultaneously.

"Holy crap, that's SNSD!" Hai exclaimed.

"Wait, am I hearing right? Do they seriously know who we are?" Meteos asked.

The excited chatter continued for a few more seconds before Hai decided to speak up.

"All right, let's slow down a bit here - with your permission, of course, Taeyeon." He said, looking straight at his opposite number, who smiled and nodded appreciatively as we quieted down. Feeling bolder, he smiled back and said, "Obviously, introductions are in order, so let's do it this way. Aurora's let us know that Sooyoung couldn't make it because of a drama filming," Here, he indicated Aurora, who nodded, before he finished, "and she and Carlo have done their best to educate the rest of us about you guys. Let's see how far one of us can get with naming everybody before they step in. Does that sound good?"

"I think that does sound good!" Seohyun said, and the others quickly agreed. "Okay, who wants to try? And don't feel bad if you can't get us all - I know it can be a challenge."

Balls bravely volunteered. He correctly named Taeyeon (his favorite), Jessica, Tiffany, Sunny and Yoona before he blanked out, leaving Aurora and me to clean up and name Hyoyeon, Seohyun and Yuri.

"Not bad at all!" Taeyeon told us with a smile. "Okay, now our turn - I'm guessing you're looking for someone other than Tiffany or Jessica who knows all your names, right?"

"Yes." Aurora replied.

"I do!" Sunny piped up.

"Oh, this'll be something if Sunny knows too. Go ahead - and I suggest taking out the two 'easier' ones first." I said, using my fingers to mime quotation marks and indicating Aurora and myself.

"Certainly. Aurora and Carlo..." She said, indicating the two of us as we nodded and smiled back.

Then she turned to our AD Carry with the short messy brown hair. "Sneaky..."

"Oh!" Sneaky exclaimed in a cute moan - as he would later say, a cute version of the Kreygasm.

"Meteos..." Here, she indicated our jungler, who had curly blond hair and was the tallest of any of us.

"Oh God." Meteos said, unable to supress a big smile at Sunny knowing and saying his name that way.

"Balls..." Sunny said, indicating our short Vietnamese top laner, who is the other big K-Pop fan on the team besides Aurora and me.

"Aw, you're awesome, Sunny." Balls said, smiling and waving.

"Thanks." She said, before turning to our bearded, slightly balding coach and sub support, "Lemon..."

"Glad to meet you guys." He said, holding out his hand, which Sunny shook.

"And finally...Hai." She finished, indicating our Chinese/Vietnamese mid-laner, captain and shotcaller.

Every one of our team members started clapping. Sunny found herself getting high fives often and fast.

"Holy s**t." Sneaky said, unable to stop himself from laughing.

"Yooo...this is too good!" Hai exclaimed as he finished shaking Sunny's hand.

"Yeah, man, stop the presses. Girls' Generation knows the names of every single C9 _LoL_ player?" Meteos asked, in a manner that suggested that he, like the rest of us, couldn't believe it.

"Hey, Frost is gonna be so mad at us..." Balls said with a grin.

"Hey, we beat them fair and square, so no disrespect to them, but I'm not too worried about them." I said. As Yuri and Taeyeon had alluded to, we weren't just there at KCON as fans - we had actually played CJ Entus Frost in a few showmatches earlier that day as part of the KCON _League of Legends_ Champions Festival organized by OGN...and had scored a clean sweep. We'd won a Dominion and an ARAM with our starters, two 1v1s with Hai beating CoCo and Balls beating Shy, and even a 2v2 with Sneaky and Lemon, our classic bottom lane duo, beating Space and MadLife.

"Yeah, MadLife got asked about his type among you guys and he said Yoona." Aurora said, turning back to Girls' Generation and specifically the member in question. This was true - before play had started, there had been an onstage Q&A.

"Oh, really?" Yoona said. "That's nice to hear...but I think I'd rather spend time with Cloud 9."

"Oh, God...You're too kind!" Aurora squeaked.

"You guys are gonna have to carry me out of here at this rate." I told our teammates, half jokingly and half seriously.

* * *

As we went back to the team house, we couldn't stop talking about that meeting, even as we talked about the exhibition, the performances we'd seen and the other stars we'd met.

"Hey, I'm not as much of a Koreaboo as Balls or even Aurora or Carlo, but that was pretty sweet." Sneaky said. Meteos and Lemon nodded along with him.

"On another note...you guys are probably the envy of a hell of a lot of Girls' Generation fans out there, especially the guys." Our boss, Jack, said with a big grin.

"Yeah, dude, we are going to get memed to death if we start misplaying." Meteos said knowingly. "The moment we start even looking like we're slumping, Reddit's gonna be like, 'Is Girls' Generation to blame for C9's poor performance?'"

"Hey, only one way to prevent that for sure, right?" Hai said.

"Oh, yeah. Keep winning." I said with a grin.

Unbidden, I found myself looking at the sky and remembering what we and Girls' Generation had said as we'd thanked each other and gone our separate ways for the moment.

Tiffany had said, "Hey, keep up the great work! If you get to Worlds, we can meet talk as early as boot camp if both of our groups aren't too busy." The other Soshis had nodded in agreement and smiled at us.

I had replied, "That would be awesome. We'll do our best!" Likewise, the rest of us had agreed to it - even Sneaky, Meteos and Lemon.

I knew somehow that we all could make it happen and was resolved to do what I could...but none of us any idea about the road we would end up walking together when we did.

 _ **Author's Notes**_ _  
Hope you guys like this start! The next chapter will include at least the start of boot camp. Reviews are always welcome, but I do ask for no flaming just because you're not fan of Cloud 9, North American League or Girls' Generation.  
_


	2. Group Stage: Into The Breach

_**2014** **League of Legends** **World Championship  
Group Stage Week 1 – Groups A & B  
National Taiwan University Sports Center, Taipei, Taiwan  
September 18th – 21st**_

We indeed kept the memes at bay, finishing first in the NA LCS regular season and booking a trip to PAX Prime in Seattle for the playoffs. There, we beat Counter Logic Gaming in the semifinals (CLG would get our third and final Worlds spot with a win over Team Curse in the 3rd place match), which booked our Worlds spot - and then defeated Team SoloMid for a third straight time to complete an NA LCS three-peat and secure a top seed at Worlds. Our eyes immediately turned to Worlds, though, knowing we had to be a spearhead for the North American and Western assault on the summit, and our comments showed it.

We had a day back at the team house to get our things ready for boot camp in Korea, and as we got back to Los Angeles, packed and then headed to the airport, we did indeed start messaging Girls' Generation again to see if we could indeed meet again. However, by the time we were boarding our 13-hour flight to Seoul, we were aware that something was very wrong over there. While everyone was happy to hear from us again, just about every member was either busy, trying to gather themselves or both - and there was serious noise about whether Jessica could be out.

By the time we arrived at Fraser Place in Central Seoul and made our base there, we - especially Aurora and I - were unable to extricate ourselves from the situation. The first night that we streamed, while we were in between placements, the two of us would often turn off our headsets and discuss what we had heard and continued to hear from the Soshis about what was going on over there without the fans watching on Twitch overhearing us.

Later that night, Hai was on the phone with Taeyeon out of view of our stream face cameras. It was a good thing Aurora and I, who were duoing, were still in queue, which meant we could focus our attention on what was happening.

"Okay, so segue into fashion, looking to launch Blanc and Eclaire...possibly wanting to date..." Hai said, summarizing what we had been hearing. "I understand better now...We actually had a similar situation earlier this year after I came back from..."

He stopped, and Aurora and I both started. Sneaky had taken off his headset, come over and asked if he could talk to Taeyeon.

Aurora and I looked at each other. Sneaky was a notorious memer...was the idea of him talking to Taeyeon at a time like this crazy or so crazy that it was a good idea? Both Aurora and I canceled out of queue, took off our headsets and came over as Hai told Taeyeon that Sneaky wanted to talk to her and handed him the phone.

"Hello?" Sneaky asked.

"Hello, Sneaky!" Taeyeon said, sincere but obviously running low on energy. "I'm sorry we're like this as you're arriving - I was hoping we'd be in better shape to welcome you to Korea better."

"It's okay." Sneaky said, his voice letting her and us know he understood the gravity of the situation. "Look, Taeyeon _noona_. I know I'm the last person you expect to hear this from...maybe the last person you _want_ to hear this from. But I know how you feel. Would you be willing to hear me out?"

"Yes, I would." She replied.

"Great. Now, before we go on, I need to let you know...I'm very liable to cuss, especially when I'm trying to make a point at a time like this." He said.

"I understand." She answered.

Hai, Aurora and I all grinned - we knew it wouldn't be Sneaky if he toned it down completely.

"You know how we met Carlo and Aurora, right?" Sneaky asked. "Or at least how they first really got into the team - because Hai and Lemon were injured."

"Yes, I do remember, just before All-Stars." Taeyeon answered.

"When we got back after the tournament, Hai wasn't able to - well, still hasn't been, actually - able to practice as much as he wanted because his wrists have been giving him trouble. He wanted to keep playing but also started looking at a role in the business side of our team sometime since his playing days looked numbered - he basically is our co-founder, after all. We wondered if it'd be the best idea to keep him on or try to build using our All-Star lineup, but we deliberated and decided after some scrims and queues we did to go with what you saw in the summer - keeping Hai mid and moving Carlo top. Obviously, the results speak for themselves. Maybe he's not the best mechanically at this point, but there are things about him that make him very tough to replace, even if at times, his famous shotcalling can border on riding our a**es all game - well, Meteos's and mine, anyway."

Hai was nodding. Aurora and I both wore even darker looks for a second as we remembered those days. We wanted to play, but we hated that our All-Star success had created that problem of who to play and where.

"I hear you. And I'm not happy about how this has been going..." Taeyeon said, and we could start to hear her crying. "Sica was once the one I was closest to, so there have been times where I have wondered how and why this happened or why we're even discussing this! But...I just want to protect Girls' Generation."

"I know. And I believe you, because I want to protect Cloud 9 too." Sneaky said consolingly, before finishing urgingly, "But you say she was once your best friend or one of your best - well, remember that! Remember that's your fam! I can't say I'm as vested in you guys as, say, Aurora and Carlo, but I do know this. My guess is the eight of you have at least some say in what happens and all I can say is you better be f**king careful about what you vote for. I know there are times where you can't stand somebody you work with or wonder if you'd be better off without them, but even then...you might not know what you've got until it's gone. You can take what I'm saying or leave it, but you've got our support and our top laner worried...f**k, you might say even _I'm_ a little worried, so there's no way I _can't_ say this."

"No, I'll keep it in mind. I promise. Thanks a lot for telling me that, Sneaky. And thanks for hearing me out too, Hai...maybe all I needed was a chance to vent to someone not in our company." Taeyeon responded. "Please don't let us hold you up just because we're like this - I know it's your first night of boot camp and there's precious little time before Worlds starts."

"We're on it." Hai said. "Talk to you soon, all right?"

"Yeah, talk to you soon." Sneaky agreed. Aurora and I stayed silent because we didn't want Taeyeon to feel overwhelmed, but we nodded.

"Okay, I'm looking forward to it. Until next time." Taeyeon said.

"Oh, my God..." Aurora breathed as we heard the hangup.

"You all right, Sneaky?" Hai asked.

"Yeah, don't worry, I'm fine." Sneaky replied. "I might need a shower after all of that, but I'm seriously glad I went through it." He managed a laugh, and so did we.

"Hey, I didn't know you were supporting them too." Aurora said, now smiling slightly again.

"It's a bit hard _not_ to since they were kind to us at KCON and since there is a song or two of theirs I definitely don't mind." Sneaky responded, managing a grin himself. "Not to mention you, Aurora and Balls playing their music a lot while I've also been playing it myself from donation requests...they've grown on me, basically."

"You know what I'm thinking?" Hai asked.

"What's that?" Aurora questioned.

"There's no way we lose to any of these guys in our group after that." Hai replied determinedly.

"Feels that way. Let's go get back to work and make sure we make that a reality." I said, nodding.

After our next placement game, Aurora and I checked our phones to find that Jessica was downstairs and offering to take the two of us out to grab some Korean street food to snack on while we continued our prep. We told Sneaky we'd take a break to meet someone who would help us get something to eat but didn't yet tell who it was. Thirty minutes later, we were back with a batch of bags containing a variety of street food, including _ddeokbokki, sundae gopchang_ , _odeng_ , baby _gimbap_ , egg bread and sweet potato sticks.

"Mmm...that's actually good!" Sneaky said, once he had tried the _ddeokbokki_ and sweet potato sticks. "Who was the person who took you guys around to get this stuff picked up?"

"Jessica actually took us out and showed us some good places." Aurora answered.

"Really? I'll seriously have to thank her." Sneaky said.

"We all need to, man." I said. "She said she also did it to make sure we got to have some local food early and that we weren't relying on fast food." I looked at him pointedly as I finished - I'd felt he'd started relying on burgers slightly too much. Sneaky just nodded as if to say he understood.

"Who paid for it?" Hai asked, as he brought a plate with some _sundae_ and _odeng_ back to his station.

"She did." I said sheepishly, even though I'd known there was no sense arguing with her when she had said she would. "Said it was a gift welcoming us to Korea and a present for winning NA LCS again."

"Oh, man, that's too awesome." Meteos said. "That's super kind of her."

We all nodded - and would have said something too if we didn't all have something in our mouths, savoring the food before our next games.

* * *

The following week after a successful boot camp, we made the relatively short trip to Taipei for the opening week of Worlds. This particular year, the group stage was being split over two countries and two weeks, with Groups A and B playing the first week in Taiwan and Groups C and D playing the second week in Singapore. As was tradition, it would be a double round robin with each team playing every group stage opponent twice - once on blue side and once on red side, which also affected drafts.

We'd been drawn into Group B and had the fortune of facing no Korean teams right off the bat, although we did have to go against a Taiwanese team playing at home in AHQ, the previous year's Worlds runner-up in Star Horn Royal Club (who had two Korean players on their team, including legendary jungler InSec, who had won the IEM World Championship in Katowice in March with KT Rolster Bullets) and a longtime European rival in Fnatic, who still had two members of their team that had won the inaugural World Championship in xPeke and Cyanide. This is how the Group B rosters looked as we had been going over them:

 ** _Cloud 9 (North America)_**  
Top - Carlo (Phillip Carlo Santos, USA)  
Jungle - Meteos (Will Hartman, USA)  
Mid - Hai (Hai Du Lam, USA)  
AD Carry - Sneaky (Zach Scuderi, USA)  
Support - Aurora (Carolina Aurora Lea, Canada)  
Substitute - Balls (An Van Le, USA)  
Coach/Emergency Sub - LemonNation (Daerek Hart, USA)

 ** _Fnatic (Europe)_**  
Top - Soaz (Paul Boyer, France)  
Jungle - Cyanide (Lauri Happonen, Finland)  
Mid - xPeke (Enrique Cedeño Martinez, Spain)  
AD Carry - Rekkles (Martin Larsson, Sweden)  
Support - YellowStar (Bora Kim, France)  
Substitute - Araneae (Alvar Martin Aleñar, Spain)  
Coach - Toyz (Wai-Kin "Kurtis" Lau, Hong Kong)

 ** _Star Horn Royal Club (China)_**  
Top - Cola (Jiang Na, China)  
Jungle - InSec (Choi Inseok, South Korea)  
Mid - Corn (Lei Wen, China)  
AD Carry - Uzi (Jian Zi-Hao, China)  
Support - Zero (Yoon Kyungsup, South Korea)  
Substitute - LaoPi (Wong Wing-Cheong, Hong Kong)  
Coach - Vical (Kim Sunmook, South Korea)

 ** _AHQ E-Sports Club (Southeast Asia)_**  
Top - Prydz (Chen Kuang-Feng, Taiwan)  
Jungle - Naz (Chen Tien-Chih, Taiwan)  
Mid - Westdoor (Liu Shu-Wei, Taiwan)  
AD Carry - GarnetDevil (Lai Yi-Meng, Taiwan)  
Support - GreenTea (Tsai Shang-Ching, Taiwan)

We didn't miss a beat, though. After beating AHQ on the first day out of four group stage days in Taipei, we beat Fnatic and Royal on Day 2 to take sole possession of first place in the group. Following our huge Day 2, Aurora messaged Jessica:

 _Dear Sica unnie,_

 _Thanks a lot! I have to confess..our two opponents today made me think about you a bit. Fnatic's mid-laner, xPeke, wants to start his own team someday and Royal's jungler, InSec, left the KT Bullets after they won the IEM World Championship this past March for a better-paying deal. If you think that it's time to spread your wings...I'd be sad to see the Girls' Generation I grew up with lose somebody, but I'd understand too. You've more than earned our loyalty. I apologize if I sound a little nuts...but I wanted to say that before anything else happens._

 _-Aurora_

Aurora didn't have to wait too long for a reply. She showed it to me when it arrived, and it read,

 _Dear Aurora,_

 _Thanks a lot for the kind words! Your loyalty means a lot to me - I'll keep trying hard no matter what so I can be worthy of being someone you look up to and follow. I'm glad to report the rest of the group came to a consensus and submitted a recommendation that I not be forced to leave. It's out of our hands now and up to the people upstairs at SM, but I can't say how happy I am._

 _On that note, no matter what, make sure you keep winning. Watching the action - especially Cloud 9 - has been one of the things that has gotten me through these times._

 _-Sica_

"Whew, that's a huge relief." I said. "Not out of the woods yet, but at least she avoids the worst-case scenario - being kicked by the others."

"No kidding." Aurora said. She went off to show the others, and while she was doing so, my iPhone went off with a text message alert. I looked down and drew a sharp breath.

 _Dear Carlo,_

 _Don't worry about us too much. You and your teammates are special and have the chance to do something that no one in your region has done before. Not everyone, whether it's in music, E-Sports or whatever, gets that chance. We took it and it got us to where we are today. I know you're kind people who care about what happens to those around you, but I don't want you to miss this shot because of us._

 _-Fany_

I was unable to keep a smile off my face, and I wrote my reply as resolve replaced fear before Aurora saw my expression as I was finishing and sending it.

"Oh, who's texting you?" She asked.

"Fany _noona_. Get a load of this." I replied. As she leaned closer, I showed her the message and my reply, which read,

 _Dear Fany noona,_

 _Thanks a lot. Hearing what we heard from you guys both means a lot and takes a lot off of our minds. We'll absolutely do our best - we do strive to be professional afer all - but at the end of the day, we're your friends and we're human, so we can only help it so much. But I will say this - we absolutely fully intend to blast this group stage and get back to Korea as a front-runner. Hope we can talk again then._

 _-Carlo_

I didn't show anyone the reply I got from her until sometime later, but it read,

 _Dear Carlo,_

 _Thank you very much! Of course we can! I should have some time available when you get back. Now make sure you keep your eyes on the prize!_

 _-Fany_

* * *

Later that night, we were unwinding with some 1v1s. Hai was playing Kennen against Sneaky's Draven when Meteos snuck behind Sneaky and covered his eyes,

"Oh, f**k you! No!" Sneaky yelled, although he was smiling. Hai, laughing the most of any of us at what was going on, had taken the opportunity to go in with Lightning Rush and get the kill.

"Hey, don't be mad at me, be mad at Sooyoung. It was her idea." Meteos said earnestly, holding up his phone.

"Really?" Sneaky asked, his eyes widening.

"Yeah, check this out." Meteos said.

The round was over, so we all came over to see what she had sent:

 _Dear Meteos (or should that be Memeos?),_

 _I wanted to remind you since I know the pressure is on and all of you are sparing a thought for us...Keep everyone loose. I know myself some humor at a time like this hardly ever hurt anyone and I expect you and Sneaky do too. Keep up the great work!_

 _-Sooyoung_

"Oh, nice!" Sneaky said, high-fiving him along with the rest of us. "She's right, of course, but I just have one question...I get why she messaged you, but why the f**k didn't she text me too?"

"I dunno. Maybe she wants you to step your game or your meme game up?" Meteos asked with a grin.

* * *

We beat Royal and AHQ one more time each on Day 3 to get to 5-0, leaving our second game against Fnatic on the last day of Groups A & B. Fnatic had also qualified after going 4-1 while Royal had only managed a 1-4 mark, meaning we an Fnatic had already secured our quarterfinal spots. There was still a lot to play for, though - if Fnatic won, they would force a tiebreaker and would have the chance to overtake us, which was a big deal because the winner of Group B would play the runner-up from Group A as opposed to the Group A winner.

On the night before that last day of group play in Taipei, Aurora called us over and showed us the latest message she had received from a Soshi, which further loosened us up:

 _Dear Aurora,_

 _Don't worry. Play loose. I got my wish. You'll be hearing about it on the news. I'll explain everything when you get back to Korea._

 _-Sica_

It was a good thing we were able to take that off our minds because we had to deal with a big undexpected problem much closer to home the next day. Hai's text to Taeyeon told the story:

 _Dear Taeyeon noona,_

 _Meteos and I had something funny at breakfast this morning...we're being looked at by EMTs right now for food poisoning. We should be fine for our quarterfinal, but it wouldn't be the best idea if we tried to play today, so Balls and Lemon are in. Is there a chance they could get messages too so they don't feel left out?_

 _-Hai_

It didn't take ten minutes before Hai got a response:

 _Dear Hai,_

 _That's awful! But I'm glad to hear it doesn't sound too bad. Thanks for letting me know - I have an idea of who they'd want to hear from. Knowing the members I'll talk to, they'd be all too happy to wish them well._

 _-Taeyeon_

The remaining five of us didn't know just yet, though - we were getting ready backstage back at the National Taiwan University Sports Center. With less than 30 minutes to go until we took the stage, Lemon's phone went off with a text message alert. He opened it and smiled before turning his phone so we could read it:

 _Dear Lemon,_

 _Go get 'em today! I know you're ready, though. Hyoyeon and I both wanted to ask if you're going to bring the Death Note back onstage today. Maybe you can't brute force Fnatic as much without Meteos and Hai, but you can certainly outsmart them, and I certainly believe in all of you. C9 Fighting!_

 _-Yuri_

"That's cool!" Aurora said. "And I see you've got that covered." She finished, indicating the trademark blue and white C9 notebook containing our drafting strategies.

"Made doubly sure that I had it when I knew I was in today." LemonNation replied proudly.

"Nice! So that must mean Balls' message isn't that far off..." Sneaky said.

He was pretty much right - only it wasn't a text. Balls's phone rang less than a minute later.

"Hello?" He asked. "Oh, hi, how are you?" After a pause, he said, "Yeah, and I'm still ready, don't worry. You know I wouldn't want to make you sad, just like we wouldn't want to let down any of you girls..."

We heard a bit of a female voice that sounded like it had the cute knob turned up to 11, and Aurora and I quickly came closer wondering if we could find out who it belonged to. It didn't take us long to figure it out.

"Oh, no." Aurora managed to say before she dissolved into a fit of giggles.

"Uh-oh, vintage Sunny _aegyo_?" I asked with a grin.

"You know it!" Aurora replied, before adding, "I can see why she decided to call him instead of texting him!" I nodded avidly through my own laughs.

"Yo, put that on speaker!" Meteos yelled.

"Hang on, can I put this on speaker? The team is asking if they can hear it too." Balls asked.

The answer was obviously yes, because after a moment, Balls took the phone away from his ear and put it on speaker phone.

Not two seconds passed before Sunny's voice came over the speaker in her patented _aegyo_ tone, saying, _"Yoboseyo, yoboseyo!_ Sunny here, wishing everyone good luck today in their last game! _C9 Fighting!_ "

"Dude, she's gonna kill us!" Sneaky said.

Aurora just managed to stop giggling enough to say, "An _aegyo_ pentakill...Hey, this is Sunny we're talking about here. She's perfectly capable of it!"

"I'll be watching tonight with any members who aren't busy...I'm expecting a victory and a good show! I'll be thinking about you all day!"

By now, we were all either slack-jawed, laughing or doubled over with mirth - or some combination of those, as Balls managed to say, "Oh, Sunny _noona_...I've been thinking about you a lot too!"

"Okay, stop, stop, stop!" LemonNation yelled, picking up the phone.

"Awww...why, Lemon?" Sunny asked, almost whining (although we knew she was still just trying to wind us up.) "Do you hate me?"

"No, Sunny _noona_ , it's not that!" LemonNation replied. "It's that if you keep going, they're going to find us either passed out or in puddles because you're so good at this!" His voice was just assertive enough, and he was smiling throughout.

"Oh, _mianhe_. I'll ease off now..." Sunny said, sounding more normal. "I do want to ask you one thing, though. You've got your notebook ready, right?"

"He's got it in his hand, actually. He double-checked when he found out he was playing today." Balls answered.

"That's great! Okay, I'll hang up so you all can get locked in!" She said.

"Bye! Thanks a lot, Sunny!" We replied, with Balls being the most enthusiastic.

"Oh, God have mercy." I said, laughing as we saw the hang up.

"That was so good, though." Aurora said.

"What was that term you and Carlo used?" Meteos asked her.. _"Aeg_..."

 _"Aegyo."_ Aurora said. "It's basically OTT cute. Many K-Pop idols can pull it off and are often expected to, but Sunny's is legendary. And that was all on audio - we weren't even seeing her face."

"It's probably a good thing, because I probably wouldn't have been able to take it." Meteos said. Aurora and I both had that smile that said, _you have no idea how right you are about that._

"Same." Sneaky said with a grin, visualizing the same thing.

"Okay, guys, we've got our big shots in the arm, now let's put them to good use!" I said, clapping my hands and fist-bumping the others as we got set to go on stage.

* * *

Less than an hour later, the dust had settled and we were celebrating completing a perfect group stage after another win. With the close of Groups A and B, we had booked a quarterfinal against defending champion SK Telecom T1 K, who had finished second in Group A, while Fnatic was set to face Oh My God.

"Hey, good game...We messed up that draft so bad." YellowStar was telling us as we went off. They'd allowed Balls and Lemon to have comfort picks in Rumble and Thresh, while Aurora had filled in as our jungler and made an impact on Elise (and relished getting to carry a bit) while I'd turned in a strong performance of my own with something of an on-hit Lux in the mid lane.

"Hey, you still made us work for it." Sneaky said. "You guys should be able to give OMG a run for their money."

"Thanks. SKT should have their hands full with you guys too." Soaz responded, shaking our hands again, as he added, "I don't know what's come over you, but you're all still playing like you've got something to prove - if anything, you've been getting even stronger. If nothing else, we can attest to that since you've beaten us twice and used every player available."

"We've worked hard, but honestly, we've been real lucky too, and here's why. We're constantly reminded of who we want to play for besides ourselves and each other." Aurora said. We all nodded, including Meteos and Hai, who had finished being checked out and who had arrived in time for the last ten minutes of the game and joined us onstage to celebrate.

"Speaking of that..." xPeke said, "I couldn't help but overhear backstage. It looks like you have quite the fan back in Korea. I think I heard her on the TV when we were over there - is she...?"

"Peke, don't you say a word to anyone else before we or she does, or I'll ask for a remake just so I can kick your butt again." Aurora said half-sternly and half-lightheartedly. He got the message, nodding and smiling to indicate he wouldn't tell.

That night, we got packed and prepared to fly back to Korea knowing we had two weeks to prepare for SKT, which was good because we were dealing with not just the defending champions but also more news - and not just the piece of news Jessica had promised to explain to us.

* * *

 _ **Group B Results**_

 **1st** \- Cloud 9 (North America) – 6-0  
 **2nd** \- Fnatic (Europe) – 4-2  
 **3rd** \- Star Horn Royal Club (China) – 2-4  
 **4th** \- AHQ E-Sports Club (Southeast Asia) – 0-6

 _ **Quarterfinal Matchups**_

Quarterfinal 1 (October 3rd) – Oh My God (China) vs. Fnatic (Europe)  
Quarterfinal 2 (October 4th) – Samsung Galaxy White (Korea) vs. Counter Logic Gaming (North America)  
Quarterfinal 3 (October 5th) – Cloud 9 (North America) vs. SK Telecom T1 K (Korea)  
Quarterfinal 4 (October 6th) – Alliance (Europe) vs. Team SoloMid (North America)

 _ **Author's Notes**_ _  
Hope you enjoyed this second chapter! Pleasantly surprised how big it got... Quarterfinals will be included next. Same rules apply - reviews are always welcome, but I do ask for no flaming just because you're not a fan._


	3. Quarterfinals vs SKT: House Divided?

_**Author's Notes**_ _  
I literally finished this chapter just before the start of this year's Worlds. Again, I'm pleasantly surprised at how big this one got...I personally had fun adding in some Heesica and some friendship Jeti into this chapter as well. Usual rules apply - reviews welcome, but no flaming just because you're not a fan of the pairings or Cloud 9._

* * *

 _ **Season 4 (2014)**_ _ **League of Legends**_ _ **World Championship**_  
 _ **Quarterfinals**_  
 ** _Busan Exhibition and Convention Center (BEXCO), Busan, South Korea_**  
 _ **October 3rd – 6th**_

 ** _Cloud 9 (North America)_**  
Top - Carlo (Phillip Carlo Santos, USA)  
Jungle - Meteos (Will Hartman, USA)  
Mid - Hai (Hai Du Lam, USA)  
AD Carry - Sneaky (Zach Scuderi, USA)  
Support - Aurora (Carolina Aurora Lea, Canada)  
Substitute - Balls (An Van Le, USA)  
Coach/Emergency Sub - LemonNation (Daerek Hart, USA)

 ** _SK Telecom T1 K (Korea)_**  
Top - Impact (Jung Eunyeong, South Korea)  
Jungle - Bengi (Bae Seongung, South Korea)  
Mid - Faker (Lee Sanghyeok, South Korea)  
AD Carry - Piglet (Chae Gwangjin, South Korea)  
Support - PoohManDu (Lee Jeonghyeon, South Korea)  
Substitute - Casper (Kwon Jimin, South Korea)  
Coach - KkOma (Kim Junggyun, South Korea)

Following the return flight to Seoul, we did our best to shut out a lot of the Korean netizen chatter knowing that we were returning to face a home team - and not just any home team, but the reigning world champions, who only the previous year had taken on and beaten all comers in Los Angeles, compiling a 15-3 overall record on the way to becoming the first Korean team to win the Summoner's Cup and thus earning the admiration of a nation. They hadn't been their usual selves since, but they still had the same team that had won it all - Piglet, Impact, Bengi, PoohManDu and of course Faker, who was still loved, feared and revered as the best mid-laner in the world and the face of competitive _League_ , espcially in Korea.

We did also get the news that Jessica had been held out of Girls' Generation's trip to Guangzhou, citing differences and discussion over creative direction and her future. We were perturbed, but mainly thankful the nuclear option (as Aurora and I had called it) had not been taken - or so we thought.

In the days between the end of our group stage and the quarterfinal, our preparation consisted mainly of scrims, but we still made time to watch the second week of the group stage in Singapore. We were having fun after watching some good upsets when Aurora, who had been browing Reddit, gasped and beckoned us over.

We went over and saw what had caused that reaction - and quite a few of us gasped ourselves. Jessica had publicly picked Cloud 9 to beat SK Telecom T1 K, and it had quickly trended on both the _League of Legends_ and K-Pop subreddits. As we looked up the details and the reactions both from Korean netizens and from back home, Aurora called Jessica.

" _Unnie_ , that's amazing...but what the heck do you think you're doing?" She asked.

"One, being a fan and friend, and two, taking some of the heat off you. I know how fans here can get, remember, so I didn't want you experiencing the worst of it alone." Jessica replied coolly but cincerely.

"Thanks a lot once again, Sica _unnie_ , but you shouldn't be doing it that publicly. At least not yet - you've got too much to lose." Aurora pleaded.

There was a pause where I could feel the tension thicken. Then Jessica said meaningfully, "Believe me, compared to what I and the rest of us had to deal with over the past few weeks, this is nothing."

There was another moment of silence. Then she asked,

"Is it okay if I come over tonight? I think it's about time I told you what's going on like I promised."

* * *

"I've decided to leave the group."

She had come up, and all seven of us were gathered around and rocked by those words.

Balls and Hai looked grim, while Sneaky, Lemon and Meteos looked at her sympathetically and Aurora and I looked like we'd just been told a relative was dead.

"But..." Aurora said. "You said that the others came to a consensus and told the people upstairs that you shouldn't have to leave! Is it something involving one of them?

"It's not that I hate or even dislike any of the members. I sometimes have disagreements with them, yes, but I'm not leaving because I can't stand someone. There's more that I want to do...sometimes, I wonder if I've found everything I want to do...and I'm not sure if I can while I'm with them. But also...I do know I've unintentionally caused them pain and I feel like me being away at least temporarily would be healthy for them too."

She looked as if she was reaching deep into herself as she said that. We recognized she was at least talking about fashion, possibly more, and nodded at the mention of that. The last sentence struck a chord with us, and I could see a teardrop going down Aurora's face.

"Anyway, that's another reason I've been benched, if you will, from the Guangzhou trip. It'll give the others a chance to prepare for life without me there - at least there all the time." Jessica finished.

We nodded understandingly, but none of us were able to find our voices until Aurora managed to say, "I'm so sorry, _unnie_." She already sounded like she was fighting back tears, and none of us could blame her.

"Thank you, but don't worry." Jessica said consolingly. "I also found out that there were people who were thinking of just kicking me outright before the Guangzhou trip, but when the other members decided to submit a consensus recommendation against that, they reconsidered. At least this way, it was my choice about whether or not to step down and I'll have a chance to say goodbye."

"'A chance to say goodbye' - what do you mean by that? One more performance?" Balls asked.

"Yes." Jessica answered wistfully. "We're yet to figure out when it will be...but it'll be before you guys leave Korea, because Jack tells me you're staying through the final, win or lose."

"We are." Hai said. Then, it looked like a light bulb went off in his head, and he asked, "Can I make a request? I have an idea..."

Jessica nodded at him. Hai then asked,

"If we beat SKT, could you not schedule it before the finals?"

"Wait a minute. You mean you want them to see if they can..." I started asking.

"Yes." Hai answered. We looked at him and understood what he meant - he wanted to see if it was possible for us to win the Summoner's Cup while their original roster was still intact.

We continued to meet his eyes and nodded almost simultaneously, gathering our resolve. _Let's do it_ , we conveyed to him.

"I know the idea is a bit silly, honestly. But if we can win this World Championship while you girls are still together..." Hai said.

"No, it's not silly...I'm touched, really." Jessica answered. Then, looking each of us in the eyes in turn, she said, "Hai, Aurora, Carlo, Sneaky, Meteos, Balls, Lemon...please know that even if you don't win this thing, that means so much to me."

She was already starting to break down as she finished. Aurora was the first one over to her, hugging her, fighting back her own tears and saying, "Don't cry, Sica _unnie_ , we're here for you," and the rest of us were right behind her. Hai quickly and quietly asked Meteos if we could give her something to drink, and Meteos came back a couple of minutes later with a bottle of soju and poured Jessica a glass. She gladly drank it and then drank a second before stopping.

"You know..." She said, "I did tell them they were also right about another thing..."

"What's that?" Meteos asked.

"I am indeed dating someone and hoping to spend a little more time with him." Jessica replied, now with a grin that looked more like herself.

"Oooh! Who's the lucky guy, if you don't mind us asking?" Aurora asked. Then she realized what she had said and quickly added, "I know this is a tough day for you, so only if you feel comfortable, Sica _unnie_."

"Don't worry, Aurora. Since I'm here, I'll give you the chance to figure it out. I'll tell you a little bit and then I'll allow you and the others to ask away." Jessica replied.

Aurora smiled gratefully and then listened intently along with the rest of us.

"My boyfriend is a very old friend of mine, and we've been secretly dating for the last six months. I wasn't always good to him after he did his military time, but..." Right here, Jessica looked like this had once been a big regret of hers, before she finished, "Thankfully, we reconnected and he hasn't held it against me much anymore, except when he playfully teases me."

Aurora returned her grin and nodded, then asked, "Is he older than you?"

"Yes." She replied.

"Is he also an idol?" I asked this time.

"Yes."

"Is he also signed to SM?" Aurora asked.

"Yes."

"Wait a minute..." Aurora said, thinking hard. Then her eyes and mouth widened as it dawned on her.

"No." She said in disbelief, although her face let us all know it was happy disbelief.

"Yes." I said with a smile, not far behind.

"No." Aurora repeated, turning to me.

"Yes!" I repeated back, my smile growing. I then turned back to Jessica and asked, "Heechul _hyung_?"

"Oh, s**t, from Super Junior?" Balls asked. I nodded at him before turning back to Jessica.

In answer, Jessica smiled at us, got up and did her version of Heechul's signature finger-to-mouth pose from _Sorry, Sorry_ that she'd done in covers.

"Oh, yes!" Aurora finally said, clapping her hands and giving Aurora another big hug, this time in congratulations.

"Oh, ho ho. _Whoo!_ Yo, that's Heesica right there." I said, making her laugh.

"Let's f**king go!" Balls shouted, jumping up and giving her a high-five.

"Yeah." Aurora said. "I tell you what, there's a ton of fans who'll be very happy about that. I know we are."

"Guilty as charged." I said, before turning to the others. "Fun fact - aside from being an idol, the man's also Platinum/Diamond on the Korean server playing bottom lane primarily."

Jessica nodded and smiled affectionately. Then she said, "Bringing it back to your quarterfinal, the other thing is...I made a bet with Heechul _oppa_." She said, with a further grin that was a bit sheepish. "He's friends with a bunch of the SKT players, so he's obviously picking them. The loser has to buy the winner _and_ the winning team dinner the next day."

"Oh, s**t, it's on now." Sneaky said, standing up.

"Heechul _oppa_ , you may be awesome and a heartthrob, but _now you done did it, boi!"_ Meteos said, finishing in something of a Southern accent, making us all smile and laugh.

Sneaky stepped closer and said, "Tell you what, Jessica _noona_ \- if for some f**ked up reason we lose...which we shouldn't...I'll give you the money."

"Thanks, Sneaky." Jessica replied, smiling at him.

"It won't be easy, but...At least we're really in this together now." Aurora said, holding out her hand again.

"To the end, Aurora." Jessica said, grasping it firmly. They shared a sisterly smile.

"Hang on...how about the rest of the group?" Lemon asked. "I know they've been great supporting us, but this is freaking SKT, after all. That's nothing against them - it's just that that's like asking Imagine Dragons to pick against a North American team."

"I can't say for sure." Jessica replied anxiously, before the light came back to her face and voice. "That said, I can categorically say that we'd all be thrilled if you won it all."

At that moment, my iPhone went off with another text alert. I quickly looked, saw it was from Tiffany and opened and read it.

I silently mouthed, "Whoa..." and then said out loud, "Speaking of that..."

I then laid my phone down on a table near the center so that they could see. Then, sheepish because of what was at the end, I turned and walked a few steps away before turning around.

The others read,

 _Dear Carlo,_

 _I'm still trying to gauge whether the other seven members are picking you or SK Telecom, but don't you worry about me. I'm in! #C9WIN_

 _I know you guys will work great with Sica unnie. You guys look after each other - I would want nothing less since I'm still close to her and that's not changing when she steps down._

 _-Fany_

PS: I'd like to see you again before we leave for Guangzhou. I'm hoping for a meeting with the team...and a meeting with you alone.

"Good old Fany, God bless her..." Jessica said fondly, before turning to me.

"She really is awesome...wait, why the hell is she asking to see you alone?" Hai asked, raising an eyebrow at me and smiling cheekily.

"He did ask if he could see her again when we got back...but he didn't say it had to be alone!" Aurora said. I nodded and smiled at her grafetully.

"That really was considerate of you." Jessica said, turning to me. "It also means that _she's_ the one who wants to meet alone."

It was here that I managed to find my voice again and ask, "I'm darn sure glad to hear all that...but what could she want with just me?"

Jessica smiled and laid a hand on my shoulder encouragingly before saying, "You need to be the one to find out, Carlo...but even as the Ice Princess, I'm telling you not to be afraid to open yourself up to her. I know she thinks very highly of you. Keep in mind she liked you even before you and Aurora found and returned her wallet at KCON."

Words failed me. I simply nodded slowly but sincerely and mouthed, "I'll be brave. I promise."

Jessica gave my shoulder a quick squeeze and then turned back to us as a group. "Can I ask for a favor?"

"Go right ahead." Hai replied.

After a moment, she asked, "I'd rather not stay at the dorm at a time like this, especially with everyone else leaving for China soon. Is it okay if I stay here for the time being? I have my bags ready outside - they're the ones I had packed for Guangzhou. I've already talked to the front desk regarding compensation and they say they'll allow it so long as you do."

We all looked at each other in surprise, and Sneaky, Meteos and Balls all mouthed, "Whoa..." within moments of each other. It had been one thing to meet Girls' Generation and find them watching us and cheering for us. To have a member staying with us, though, was unquestionably something _very_ different for so many reasons.

Quickly, though, we all nodded. Hai then said, "We'd be glad to help you there. We just need to figure out where you'll sleep..."

"Take my bed." I offered. "It's next to Aurora's - I think you and she would like that. I'll just sleep on the couch." Both of them smiled appreciatively.

"Hang on, I've got a better idea." Sneaky said. "Jessica, you take my bed and I'll just get a spare cushion and comforter and sleep in the closet."

Every one of us apart from Sneaky and Jessica burst out laughing, with Hai, Meteos, Balls and LemonNation being the loudest.

"Holy s**t, Sneaky, that's dank as hell!" Meteos exclaimed, almost unable to speak.

Jessica was evidently but understandably puzzled, and she asked, "Why? What's funny? I think that's kind of him! I do wonder about why he said the closet, though!"

"Oh, don't get us wrong, it's real kind of him!" Hai said, managing to compose himself enough. "It's just that...Sneaky actually slept in a closet in the very first team house we had when we got into the LCS."

"No way!" Jessica almost squealed, now laughing too. "Did you really...?"

"It's true." Sneaky said, chuckling now too. "It's even on video."

We quickly led her over to his station, and he pulled up the YouTube video of Cloud 9's first-ever _League of Legends_ team house tour for HyperX back during the 2013 Summer Split (just under a year before Aurora and I joined.) And sure enough, Jessica saw that Sneaky had been sleeping in Lemon and Alex Penn (our old analyst)'s bathroom closet, which was literally big enough just to put the mattress in.

"Oh, my God." Jessica said, laughing again. "That's funny, but that must have been no fun!"

"Don't worry, at least I had the mattress." Sneaky said sheepishly. "And don't worry, I do have a real bed at our current house."

* * *

For the week or so leading up to our quarterfinal, Jessica basically took on the role of den mother/manager. Among other things, she let us know what we should and shouldn't say to the Korean press and suggested some fresh combinations of the clothes we'd brought, while we let her watch scrims, get some _League_ tips and see what we were like both in a competitive and streaming environment (the latter being simulated, sine we had a stream blackout for the most part on purpose and of course wanted to give no hints that she was basically in our camp), from Sneaky and Meteos' lowbrow dirty humor to Hai, Balls and Lemon being more quiet and Aurora's and my cleaner but still energetic act including our K-Pop radio DJ personas. Being under the same roof as her allowed us to find out a bunch of things about her, including what her "no-makeup face" looked like in person or how Hai was more comfortable cooking than she was. We did also found out just why she had been the one besides Taeyeon who had been considered to be Girls' Generation's leader when the group was formed - she wouldn't open up easily to just anybody, but she strove to do all she could for people who had earned her trust.

She did still help us get Korean food so we could keep sampling it, but in keeping with the North America vs. Korea theme, she made sure we had at least one American/Western meal a day - something even the "When in Rome..." types like Aurora and I had no objection to.

We also allocated one night for meeting up with Girls' Generation again - first, each of us would meet one or more Soshis who wanted to see us, and then we'd meet up.

"Would you like to come with me after we finish today?" Jessica asked Aurora as we were arranging the meetings. "I've got something for you today since I know you're an avid dancer."

This was true - one of the things Aurora liked to do in queue while she was streaming and had K-Pop playing was follow along to the dances with her upper body (while still seated) - although she had shown she could do the full dances when her viewers requested it - and she had confirmed that dance was one of her big interests apart from _League of Legends_.

"Of course!" Aurora replied. "What did you have in mind?"

"Well, I know you wanted to get critiqued on your dancing and also make sure you stayed active to keep your stress low." Jessica said, her smile growing. "So I figured I'd work a bit too and get some help for both of us - as I have on multiple occasions - from our resident expert."

"Oh, Hyoyeon?" Aurora asked. When Jessica nodded, she cheered, "Yay! Thanks a lot! I don't expect her to go easy on me, but I know I'll be better for it."

Meanwhile, as we split for the moment, Sneaky and Meteos went to see Yoona, Sooyoung and Seohyun, Balls and Lemon went to meet Sunny and Yuri, I went to meet Tiffany again and Hai went to see Taeyeon as each of the Soshis had requested.

* * *

"I know this is cliché, but it really is about feeling the music and letting it take you over, isn't it?" Aurora asked, after they'd had some fun with Red Velvet's _Happiness_ and freestyled to Big Bang's _Last Farewell_ in a room at a studio.

"Oh, yes." Hyoyeon replied. "Even more so when you're tired. And then from there, I find that it helps if you can add something of yourself in there - your energy, your attitude and so on - then that helps too."

She then said, "You're definitely good - I can tell you practice a lot."

"Oh, thanks, Hyoyeon _unnie_." Aurora replied, going red but smiled. "That means a lot coming from you. Although you mentioned fatigue - I think that's where I need to improve the most, in my fitness. I do look after my weight, but I don't always train for endurance. Balls is the best of us in that department."

"It's okay - just be thankful you don't have to deal with my condition." Jessica said, making Hyoyeon nod since they knew she was talking about her anemia. "Believe me, there's nothing worse than wanting to practice something and not being able to as much as I would like."

"Oh, I know Hai would agree with that because he's got the wrist problems." Aurora said.

"Here's something I sometimes do. Instead of constantly trying to work on one song at a time, try a medley, or if you feel adventurous, try a random play segment where you don't know what's coming." Hyoyeon told her.

"Oh, that sounds fun! I'll kep that in mind." Aurora replied. "Note to self: If I ever teach or coach either of you _League of Legends_ , I'm going to take a page out of that book, heck, maybe even for myself, and suggest you mix in an ARAM or two."

Jessica and Hyoyeon both laughed.

When we met up later that night just to relax and shoot the breeze, Tiffany revealed that she'd been teaching me a dance too while Taeyeon revealed that she's also been teaching Hai during our individual outings. We didn't share what we'd worked on then, but everyone was going to find out soon enough.

* * *

At about the same time as Girls' Generation went out to Guangzhou, we packed bags and went out to Busan, opting for the high-speed train up there, which was about 2 and a half hours, or the same time as it had taken for us to fly from Seoul to Taipei for our group stage games.

Among the many things it had hosted beforehand, the Busan Exhibition and Convention Center (BEXCO for short) had also hosted the 2011 World Cyber Games, and the _League_ tournament there had actually been the last international tournament that a North American team had won with Korean teams in the field before we had won All-Stars. Back then, the winner had been Chicks Dig ELO playing for the US, composed of TSM's Reginald and Xpecial, CLG's Chauster and Saintvicious and then Dyrus (at the time with Epik Gamer).

We had two thrilling but ultimately harrowing nights before it was our turn as Western teams lost hard-fought five-game series against Eastern ones. First, Fnatic fell to Oh My God after OMG barely won a base race in Game 5, and then Counter Logic Gaming fell just short against Samsung White after the bottom lane duos (Imp and Mata for SSW, Doublelift and Aphromoo for CLG) had gone back and forth all series.

As we entered the venue on match day and saw the crowd, I felt like we were going behind enemy lines for the first time since we'd played Fnatic at All-Stars in Paris. But the fact that we had continued to prepare well and had support from home, not to mention the fact that Jessica was traveling with us basically as one of us and hand picked us to win, gave us courage. In addition, Tiffany publicly picked Cloud 9 the night beforehand - as she later told us, it was both because she believed in us and because she didn't want Jessica to suffer any vitriol by herself.

The series did not start out well, with Faker being vintage Faker and taking Game 1. However, we managed to collect ourselves and win Game 2 in order to get right back on even footing before some superior teamfighting allowed us to take Game 3, putting us on match point.

Jessica was watching from the crowd wearing a green coat over her new C9 team shirt, with the coat's hood up to cover her face. She was enjoying listening to the Riot broadcast to hear what they were saying about us. She looked down at her phone to see us backstage in high spirits, with Hai talking to us animatedly.

* * *

"You know all that tension we talked about?" He was saying. "We're putting it into them."

"Yeah - Lemon and I were watching the player cams and they look like they're a little messed up. I think they need to win the early game or else they're vulnerable to tilting." Balls said.

"I they're going to put more emphasis on making proactive plays to right themselves and get their momentum back. If we can stay one step ahead of them and punish them for their aggression, we're into the semifinals." LemonNation said.

"Good God, we really do sound like we're the Ice Princess's team." I said, with a nervous but sincere laugh. I was having fun - it was just surprising to feel our own menace.

"Well, it's certainly not a bad thing to have her so-called coldness right here." Hai replied. "But more importantly, this is what they did to other Western teams for way too long. It's payback time."

"Heck yeah." Lemon said. Then, looking in his notebook, he said, "No prizes for guessing the kind of comp we're going to aim for - but I'm guessing you guys don't mind one bit, right?"

"Uh-uh." Aurora replied with a grin.

* * *

We picked Zed for Hai, Lee Sin for Meteos, Leona for me (an unconventional pick that I had become known for), Lucian for Sneaky and Morgana for Aurora, while banning out Faker's famous LeBlanc and putting him on Orianna. At the start of the game, both we and SKT decided to group and invade in order to steal parts of the each other's jungle and get wards.

"Oh, they've got the same idea." Aurora said as we got into a larger bush she saw SKT standing in another one within range of a ward that one of us had put down.

"Yeah, we might be able to get something if we play this right." Hai said. "Throw Binding, let's see if we get anybody. Carlo's on point - don't go in unless we can lock up somebody and kill him."

"Got it." We said.

"Here goes..." Aurora said, lining up her skillshot as she saw them start to move.

We saw her fire it off and saw it connect - and we all jumped a bit when we realized who it was.

"Oh, it's Piglet!" Aurora yelled.

"We can take it. Go, go, go, go, go!" Hai said briskly.

 _ **Leigh "Deman" Smith (EU LCS):**_ _Binding lands onto Piglet! The early chain CC comes in and Hai gets first blood! The fight continues with Hai continuing to get Shurikens across the team and Faker trying to trade back, but nobody else goes down. But Cloud 9 will take that any day of the week!_

 _ **Joe Miller (EU LCS):**_ _Absolutely. Faker may be better mechanically, but he will take time to catch up...Hai recalls and comes back with the extra Longsword and potions._

It did indeed give Hai a cushion that he took full advantage of as he was consistently able to outtrade Faker early, often shoving him under his own tower and chunking that tower to about half of its HP.

"Bengi looks like he's going mid - I think he wants to get Faker going. I'll come in to match him - if it's a 2v2, that works for us." Meteos said a few minutes later.

"I'll keep eyes down there for a TP counter-gank." I said. "Just got my Level 6 and think I can shove out Impact so that he doesn't see me going."

"Sounds great. Save your ulti for then if you can, all right?" Hai asked.

"That's what I figured. Would be awesome if we could get both Faker and Bengi." I replied.

 _ **Deman:**_ _Bengi is here, but Hai gets away and now here comes the counter-engage as Meteos also comes in. Carlo also teleports in off to the side - Solar Flare goes off and lands on Bengi and Faker! They get on towards Faker and Meteos gets him down! Bengi's trying to run away, but Carlo locks him up and gets the kill! Beautiful play by Hai, Meteos and Carlo right there and Cloud 9 are off to a 3-0 start!_

 _ **Joe:**_ _They're going for this middle turret as well and they're going to get it! Hai gets the last hit on it and that's more money in his pocket...that's an early 3,000 Gold lead for Cloud 9 and the holders are in trouble early!_

 _ **Sam "Kobe" Hartman-Kenzler (NA LCS):**_ _It's not just the fact that it's 3,000 Gold up at this stage. It's the fact that that outer middle turret has been taken, and that frees up Hai to roam early on that Zed because SKT does not have too much vision to spot him moving between the lanes. So if Cloud 9 plays this right, this mid lane control could snowball into other lanes quickly._

Jessica had been watching with quiet elation, for once glad to hear groans from the crowd as the SKT fans continued to get antsier. When she saw Meteos quickly recall and grab Mobility Boots and a Sightstone while I purchased Distortion Lucidity Boots, she quietly but visibly smiled, silently cheering. It was our version of the classic vision control strat that we had worked on a lot over the previous months with Aurora and Meteos both going for early Sightstones so they could get vision all over the place. And since I liked to go with Distortion Lucidity Boots, which also further reduced cooldown on both my Flash and my Teleport, then not only could we keep eyes on the enemy and get more advantageous skirmishes and fights, including frequent Teleport flanks like I'd done with the mid-lane counter-gank. This worked because we had extra gold available to Meteos, Aurora and me, which meant we afford to spend on map presence instead of combat stats.

And she had seen in person while we were scrimming that we were very hard to beat when we got to do it as early as we did.

 _ **Deman:**_ _ManDu is trying to clear on his own, but Cloud 9 are on the move and nobody from SK Telecom is close enough to him. Aurora gets into position and Hai's there as well! Another Dark Binding lands and Hai doesn't even need the Death Mark to get another kill. That ward stays alive as well and now Piglet's getting shoved in!_

 _ **Kobe:**_ _Cloud 9 making the most of the vision advantage that they have created with that early lead and it is growing steadily. Sneaky's now onto the turret and Piglet's trying to recall, but he's not going to get a chance to!_

 _ **Joe:**_ _Another pickup! No fear whatsoever from Cloud 9 as Hai will just dive in and pop Piglet again! It's a 3/0/2 Zed so far, and it's not Faker, but Hai, who's across from Faker!_

 _ **Kobe:**_ _Yeah, if you turn off the name tags and show that scoreboard, you're much more likely to think that that Zed is Faker instead of his opponent - especially an opponent who has struggled with injuries. But those wrists look like they're not bothering Hai one bit. And credit has to go to, as we discussed, the fact that C9 made sure to invest their extra early gold into vision and global presence. They're also going to get that turret and then possibly turn for Dragon, so make it a 5,000 Gold lead, possibly pushing 6,000 soon._

"I'm getting Blade of the Ruined King after this - if someone's out by himself, I'm killing him." Hai said firmly as we did indeed take the first Dragon of the game without a fight.

"Even if it's Faker?" Sneaky asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Okay, nearly in that case." Hai replied. "But I'm almost at the point where I wouldn't give a s**t."

"What's that point - you finish Ghostblade before he gets two items?" Aurora asked.

"Pretty much." Hai said.

It was hard work keeping up our vision control, which included not just Meteos and Aurora but all of us clearing enemy wards (luckily, I liked to do so anyway), but it continued to pay dividends. With 20 minutes gone and no further kills but with some extra turrets and dragons taken (and none conceded), we had a 4v4 in the middle lane while Impact and I had a 1v1 in the bottom lane. I was able to outduel him and take him out.

"Nice, Carlo!" Hai shouted. "Pink ward in their blue side jungle hasn't been spotted - you can use that."

"Got it. Coming in hot!" I called.

"That's what I'm talking about. All right, Piglet, Piglet!" Hai called.

 _ **Deman:**_ _Meanwhile, in the bottom lane, Carlo takes down Impact as the pressure finally tells there! He used his ultimate there, but he's still got Teleport and uses it quickly._

 _ **Joe:**_ _Cloud 9 sees him coming in, but SKT doesn't! Cloud 9 starts the fight - there goes Meteos, who gets a great kick to send Piglet into the front! Hai's onto Faker again with the Death Mark and Aurora also throws out the Soul Shackles as Carlo arrives! Bengi manages to get away, but Cloud 9 clean house and it's a 4-0!_

 ** _Kobe_** _ **:**_ _Unbelievable play out of Cloud 9, not giving SKT any window back into this game whatsoever! They've also taken out that inner middle turret, turned and started up Baron...this might be them slamming the door and locking it!_

 ** _Deman:_** _Bengi is trying desperately to get in. He has to try to pull off a heroic steal here - but another Binding lands from Aurora over the wall and Hai just jumps over the back of the pit and cuts him down. Baron is secured and it's surely just a matter of time before Cloud 9 finish this._

 _ **Joe:**_ _I tell you what, looking at the SKT player cams, they're just reeling...they know they're over 10,000 Gold down in a game they have to win or else their run at a second straight world title is over - and now they're up against a full team with Baron buff._

 _ **Deman:**_ _Absolutely. And it is always exciting to see a Western team do this well against a Korean team, especially since we've never seen it to this level before, but you can't help but feel for SK Telecom because you get the feeling that this has been painful._

With our lead and Hand of the Baron, we had no trouble knocking out the middle inhibitor turret and inhibitor before turning for the bottom one.

"This is for Jessica!" Meteos yelled as we started on the bottom inhibitor turret, making us all cheer heartily.

"Yeah!" Hai shouted, looking over at Meteos before he turned back to his monitor. "We love you, Jess!"

"Thanks for believing in us, Jess!" Sneaky said. "Heechul, you better be ready to pay up!"

"Oh, yeah!" Aurora said in response, before calling, " _Saranghaeyo_ , Sica _unnie_!"

" _Saranghaeyo_ , Sica _noona_!" I yelled, before saying, "Okay, everyone, here we go!"

 _ **Joe:**_ _The turret goes down and Cloud 9 rush forward! SKT are choosing to make their last stand here, but the fight is already going Cloud 9's way!_

 _ **Kobe:**_ _They've got Piglet already! They're going to do it!_

 _ **Deman:**_ _Shockwave only hits Carlo and Sneaky takes out Faker! Aurora even gets a kill on ManDu and it's absolute carnage in the SKT base! But Cloud 9 stand victorious, all of them! They have dethroned SK Telecom and booked their place in the semifinals...with a perfect game!_

We definitely hadn't gone in hoping to win with a literal perfect game (no kills, towers, Dragons or Barons conceded), but as the game progressed, we all quietly challenged ourselves to do so, knowing that while we didn't have to perfect them, it would be an invaluable statement if we could. To actually pull it off was, needless to say, a huge adrenaline rush for all of us.

As the red SKT Nexus expoded and we jumped up to celebrate, Jessica was on her feet, lightly pumping her fists and beaming. She then nodded appreciatively when she saw our opponents and how downcast they were - all five were still seated, either frozen or slumped over, clearly devastated - and how we reacted. We looked from them to their fans in the crowd, many of whom were in tears, and then looked at each other. We then had the same collective thought - while we had been a legitimate threat to win, no one had expected us to basically rip out their collective heart. Quickly, we knew we had one more job to do.

Hai and Aurora were the first two to go over to SKT, and they went to Faker and Piglet (who was the most openly distraught, unable to contain his tears) respectively and encourged them to stand. The rest of us quickly followed suit - I went to Impact, while Meteos went to Bengi and Sneaky went to PoohManDu. It took a minute, but they gathered themselves enough for us to bring them front and center.

We raised our opponents' hands to the crowd, and they managed smiles and bowed before they graciously returned the gesture and raised ours. As we took a bow ourselves, the crowd began to cheer us, and Jessica was among the first to start up our team chant:

 _"Cloud 9! Cloud 9! Cloud 9!"_

* * *

Once we got backstage after we'd collected our gear and done our interviews, we found Jessica running towards us with open arms with her jacket temporarily thrown off to reveal her C9 team shirt. We all cheered and shared another group hug with her at the center.

"MVP! MVP!" Hai was chanting, now also raising Jessica's arm like he had raised Faker's.

"Thanks so much for the past week. That was for you, ma'am." Meteos said, high-fiving her.

"Oh, you're more than welcome. Thank you all for the last week too!" Jessica replied.

"Hey, let it be said: NA Jessica KR Jessica." Sneaky said with a big grin.

We all shared a laugh as LemonNation said, "I guarantee you someone typed that in Twitch chat as that last game was going on."

Before we could say anyting else, there was a joyful shout. "Jess! _Jess!_ "

"Jesus, that's Tiffany _noona_!" Meteos said, his smile growing even bigger.

He was right. Tiffany was coming around a corner and also removing her coat, which she put next to Jessica's, to reveal that she too was wearing a Cloud 9 shirt.

"Oh, my God, Tiff!" Jessica said, seeing her and oening her arms. They shared a big hug as we all smiled and cheered before she gave the rest of us big hugs as well - and I went red but was glad that she saved me for last.

"Holy crap, Fany _noona_ , you were here the whole time?" I asked, stunned like the rest of us.

"Second game onwards." She replied.

"That's good - you wouldn't have been happy with us one bit in Game 1." Aurora said.

"Don't worry about that." Tiffany assured us. Then she looked at all of the players and said, "I'm so proud of all of you. You did it!"

"The players would want to correct us on that, Tiff... _We_ did it." Jessica said. "There's a reason for that..."

"What is it?" Tiffany asked, intrigued.

"This team wants to win it for the group now too." Jessica replied, glowing.

Tiffany's eyes grew wide as she turned to the rest of us. She looked back at Jessica and asked, "Really?"

Jessica's smile only grew as she replied, "I kid you not...I'd barely told Cloud 9 that I was leaving when Hai asked whether we could save scheduling our last performance together until after the final if they won today."

"Oh my...Hai, you didn't!" Tiffany exclaimed, shocked as she turned to him.

"I did." Hai said. "Admittedly, when it came out of my mouth, I knew I sounded a little crazy, but then I looked at everyone else and I knew I wasn't."

"I'd like to think today was proof of that." I said with a grin.

"Are you kidding me?" Tiffany replied. "You haven't had to prove to me or Jess since All-Stars that you could win with people counting on you to do it...but yeah, I'd say beating the defending champions and finishing with a perfect game is absolute proof if anybody else needed it!"

She gave me a brief sideways hug as I smiled gratefully.

Jessica noticed and gave us a smile before she told the team at large, "The fact that you choose to put that pressure on yourselves and play for us too in addition to all the people you have rooting for you back home...That's a very idol thing to do, you know?"

"No, I didn't think of it that way..." Hai said, and the rest of us exce shook our heads and indicated that that was news to us too. "But that makes sense. Thanks." He said, and we all nodded.

"Anytime!" Jessica said. Then she added, "Whatever the rest of us might have been wishing for or feeling going into this series, Fany and I at the least know one thing now."

"What's that?" Aurora asked.

Tiffany motioned for us to huddle up and we quickly did so. When we did, she and Jessica looked at each other, nodded and counted, _"Hana, dul, set..."_

Then they turned to us and said brightly, " _Jigemun, C9 Shi Dae!_ Right Now, It's Cloud 9 Generation!"

The message they sent by modifying their trademark greeting to include us hit us instantly like...because of what we had done, including taking in one of theirs and resolving to win the World Championship for them while their original roster was intact, they considered us to be part of them.

"Yooo!" Hai exclaimed, putting his hands to his head.

"No way!" Aurora yelled, although she made a beeline straight for Jessica and Tiffany and threw her arms around them.

"Holy crap...I'm gonna channel Deman here. _'I do not believe it!'"_ I shouted.

"Are you serious?" Balls asked in disbelief.

"Wow...that's real cool. Thanks!" LemonNation said, clapping Tiffany and Jessica on the back.

"Oh-ho...yo, we K-Pop now!" Meteos said with a grin.

"I don't know about that, but I'll take being a _League_ idol for sure." Sneaky said, also smiling.

"Come on, let's get you out of here." Tiffany said briskly. "I think you won that hostile crowd, but I still don't know if it's a good idea for any of us to be out in the open too long tonight."

We all nodded. Aurora and I allowed ourselves the liberty, though, of putting on _Run Devil Run_ on our phones as we put our headphones back on, which made everyone grin as we donned our hoodies and jackets.

We simply ordered some food, both Korean and Western, and brought it back to our hotel and up to Hai's room, where he had his laptop hooked to the TV so the nine of us could watch the VODs on a large screen. It gave us a chance to hear what they'd been saying on the Riot cast and gave Tiffany and Jessica the chance to ask us how we'd felt at certain moments or why we'd made certain decisions. It made for the most fun replay reviews we'd ever had to that point.

The following day, Heechul treated us to dinner after we watched Team SoloMid upset Alliance to set up an all-North American showdown in the second semifinal (and with the bet out of the way, Aurora and I were especially thrilled to meet him). As we arrived back at Fraser Place, Jessica had packed her things and thanked us wholeheartedly as she prepared to head back to the dorm. When we got back up to our base, we took time to read her official announcement of stepping down from Girls' Generation. It brought our emotions back to the surface, but it was the end that left us especially slack-jawed:

I want to thank my fellow members, and also my family - my parents, Krystal and Heechul _oppa_ \- for helping me through this difficult time. I also want to thank a new group of friends - the players and staff of Cloud 9 _League of Legends_. I was already a fan of theirs before the World Championships started, but what they did for me personally this past week has made me a fan for life.

Also included was the announcement that their last performance together would be on October 19th at a time and place to be determined.

"October 19th...that's the day of the final." Meteos said. "You don't think..."

"It would be awesome if they performed _at_ the final, but I can't see them wanting to unseat Imagine Dragons - you know what I'm saying?" Aurora asked in response.

"Yeah." I said. "Either way, I think we better stay focused and get ready, because TSM's going to leave nothing in the tank."

We all nodded and then started our replay work.

 _ **Quarterfinal Results**_ _– Venue: Busan Exhibition and Convention Center (BEXCO)_  
Quarterfinal 1 (October 3rd) – Oh My God (China) 3-2 Fnatic (Europe)  
Quarterfinal 2 (October 4th) – Samsung Galaxy White (Korea) 3-2 Counter Logic Gaming (North America)  
Quarterfinal 3 (October 5th) – Cloud 9 (North America) 3-1 SK Telecom T1 K (Korea)  
Quarterfinal 4 (October 6th) – Alliance (Europe) 2-3 Team SoloMid (North America)

 _ **Semifinal Matchups**_ _– Venue: Olympic Gymnastics Arena, Seoul_  
Semifinal 1 (October 11th) – Oh My God (China) vs. Samsung Galaxy White (Korea)  
Semifinal 2 (October 12th) – Cloud 9 (North America) vs. Team SoloMid (North America)


	4. Semifinals vs TSM: Home Comforts

_**Author's Notes**_  
 _A lot happened in between finishing this chapter and the last – I was alternately psyched for Tiffany's return, a bit bummed over CLG as an NA fan but psyched for Cloud 9 and Team SoloMid as well as the wildcards. We've also got the TSM spring roster in this story as opposed to the one they actually sent to Worlds in 2014 because that specific quintet – part of their Baylife lineups – was one of my favorites outside of Cloud 9 (nothing against Lustboy or Amazing.) Last but not least, I want to give a shout-out to Helloooo_Im_Z on Twitch, who befriended me over C9 League and K-Pop (especially via Sneaky's stream) and who helped me figure out how Tiffany and Jessica might answer a question in an interview you'll see later.  
Usual rules apply – reviews welcome, but please, no flaming because you're not a fan._

* * *

 _ **2014** **League of Legends** **World Championship  
Semifinals  
Olympic Gymnastics Arena, Songpa-gu, Seoul, South Korea  
October 11th – 12th**_

 _ **Cloud 9 (North America)**_  
Top - Carlo (Phillip Carlo Santos, USA)  
Jungle - Meteos (Will Hartman, USA)  
Mid - Hai (Hai Du Lam, USA)  
AD Carry - Sneaky (Zach Scuderi, USA)  
Support - Aurora (Carolina Aurora Lea, Canada)  
Substitute - Balls (An Van Le, USA)  
Coach/Emergency Sub - LemonNation (Daerek Hart, USA)

 _ **Team SoloMid (North America)**_  
Top - Dyrus (Marcus Hill, USA)  
Jungle - TheOddOne (Bryan Wyllie, Canada)  
Mid - Bjergsen (Søren Bjerg, Denmark)  
AD Carry - WildTurtle (Jason Tran, Canada)  
Support - Xpecial (Alex Chu, USA)  
Substitute - Reginald (Andy Dinh, USA)  
Coach - Locodoco (Choi Yoonsub, South Korea)

As the quarterfinals finished and attention started turning to the semifinals, we were pleasantly surprised to see that fans were still buzzing about what we had acc never before had a North American team beaten a Korean one in a Worlds playoff, and now we'd done it against the defending champions on Korean soil and finished with a perfect game. Not only that, but we'd managed to secure two members of the nation's girl group as fans (albeit two who were originally from our region), who'd dared to pick us in the quarterfinals and been proved right. As we contined our semfinal preparation, we couldn't help but try to gauge the level of our support in Korea relative to the remaining teams (and Girls' Generation helped by sharing what they knew from talking to others – for example, Sunny was getting calls about Worlds on _Sunny FM Date_.) What we found was another pleasant surprise: as Hai said, any Korean fans who weren't cheering for Samsung White first tended to be cheering for us.

An interesting situation came up as the weekend drew near after Taeyeon sent Hai another text:

 _Dear Hai,_

 _If the nine of us are going to support you seriously, I think we had better know just what we're watching so we can properly appreciate what you do. Is it okay if you give those of us who aren't too familiar with League of Legends a tutorial as only you can? I'm open to suggestions as to where. 4:00 PM on Thursday should work well since none of us has a schedule for that afternoon._

 _-Tae_

We took up the teaching/coaching challenge with gusto and all signed off on Hai's response. We then started to makesure our Fraser Place base was presentable, because the response read,

 _Dear Tae noona,_

 _Absolutely! We'd love to. Our base at Fraser Place should work just fine so we're not disturbed or eavesdropped on. The only things you should need are headsets._

 _-Hai_

* * *

All nine Soshis arrived on Thursday afternoon at least five minutes beforehand. When asking each of them about their gaming experience and how much they watched or knew _League_ , we found that aside from Jessica and Tiffany having watched us in the NA LCS and then in person in our Worlds quarterfinal (to say nothing of Jessica spending the week leading up to that quarterfinal with us, including watching us scrim), Sunny had played a bit and Taeyeon had some well-documented experience in E-Sport games, albeit mostly in _StarCraft_ (which I was also a fan of.) Sunny thus gave us a hand with helping explain the basics before we took charge on some of the finer points such as vision.

"I know we all agree, though – there's no learning like hands-on learning." Hai said. "But we're not going to put you into 5v5s or even 1v1s just yet – we'll make this a challenge for us too. Let's do 2v2s but with four players each." Hai said.

"How are we going to do that?" LemonNation asked.

"Two players per champion – one handles the keyboard and the other handles the mouse. I've heard of some players doing it – they call it tandem mode." Hai responded.

Not even any of the players had done it before, so we were all curious to see how we would handle that challenge. We quickly agreed that there would be at most one pro per pair on each champion (given that there were nine Soshis and seven C9 players, we couldn't go one-for-one across the board.) Once we got everything sorted out, we decided it would be Tiffany, Jessica, Aurora and me first up against Yoona, Sooyoung, Meteos and Sneaky, followed by Taeyeon, Seohyun, Hyoyeon and Hai against Sunny, Yuri, Balls and LemonNation.

As we split into our quartets to quickly discuss picks and strategy, I noticed that all of us quickly decided that wherever possible, the C9 player in the duo should be the one on the mouse, because that person by himself or herself could handle targeting (which would include last hitting for farming and lining up skillshots) and movement. We also used the 2v2 rules that had been established at All-Star Shanghai the previous year – Howling Abyss, with the winner being the first to two kills, first to 100 combined CS or the first to destroy an enemy turret. The only difference was that we had no bans (so blind pick as opposed to blind draft) since some of the Soshis were still very new.

"Wonder if we should just set the tone and pick Ahri and Syndra." Aurora said with a grin as the four of us went off by ourselves, having agreed on a bit of time to discuss and prepare before we got underway.

"That would be good! You know, in the past week, Tiff and I have had people asking if we've started to play and have definitely suggested Syndra and especially Ahri because they've got our dances." Jessica said. "But honestly, I'd rather pick Ashe in this case. One, it'll give us an AD champion with some CC who can easily get kills, and two, I am the Ice Princess, after all."

We all smiled and laughed, and Aurora said, "'AD' and 'CC' - you really have been spending too much time around us, Sica _unnie_. But I do like that. So, Carlo, who do you and Fany _unnie_ take?"

"I've got a good feeling about Ahri." Tiffany answered.

"Yeah, while both could work, I definitely am more comfortable personally with Ahri than with Syndra. One more thing, Fany _noona_ \- Classic or Popstar? Or, should I say, _Run Devil Run_ or _Genie_?"

"Classic today." Tiffany replied. "I'm in something of a _Run Devil Run_ mood."

We smiled again at that and then temporarily split into our tandems so Jessica and Tiffany could ask us individual questions.

"Okay. Could you give me one tip or bit of feedback on each of the abilities? We'll start with Orb of Deception." Tiffany asked, sitting down and putting her hands in ready positions on the keyboard and tapping the Q key with her little finger.

"Sure!" I said, as I also took a seat and got ready on the mouse. "It's good if you can also connect with it on the way back because it deals true damage on the return, meaning it ignores Magic Resistance."

"Got it. How about Fox Fire?" She asked, now tapping the W key with her ring finger.

"Save it for last hitting and when we're up close." I replied.

"Okay. Now, Charm...this is obviously the one we want to hit if we can, right?" She asked, now tapping E with her middle finger.

"Oh, absolutely. Hitting that makes it so much easier to go aggressive and also can knock an enemy champion out of a fight." I agreed

"And finally, the ultimate." She finished, now tapping R with her index finger.

"Don't use the last Spirit Rush dash offensively unless you're confident you can help secure a kill with it or unless you've got another escape mechanism like Flash or Hourglass." I answered.

She nodded and smiled. "Thanks! Let's lock in and get them, shall we?"

"You bet." I responded. "Let's get on the same chat as Jessica and Aurora..."

We routinely used Skype for our voice communications while streaming, so we plugged both headsets for each tandem into a Y-adapter and connected it to the PC. Once we had it working, Aurora said, "We need to watch each other - if we land Enchanted Crystal Arrow or Charm, try following up with the other just before that effect expires."

"Oh, the CC chain technique you work on regularly?" Jessica asked.

"Yeah, that." Aurora replied.

As we loaded in, we saw that Yoona and Sneaky were playing as Varus while Sooyoung and Meteos were playing as Karma. This meant we had to deal with a lot of poke between Piercing Arrow and Inner Flame, but luckily, they were grouped up right as both of us hit Level 6 and unlocked ultimates. Jessica and Aurora didn't hesitate, firing the Ashe ultimate and catching both of our opponents simultaneously.

"Nice! Okay, let's line up the Charm..." Tiffany said, poising her middle finger over the E key.

"Yeah, let's get Varus." I said. "Now."

Tiffany hit E to fire the Charm, and it landed to keep Varus unable to deal damage.

"Nice!" Jessica and Aurora yelled, while Aurora added, "Focus him down!"

"Got 'em!" I yelled, as Tiffany let fly.

It thankfully didn't take long for us to burst down Varus. Aurora then called, "Nice one! Watch out, Karma's gonna use Inspire and try to get away!"

"We've got one Spirit Rush left, so let them try." Tiffany responded with a grin.

I quickly nodded and lined up the mouse cursor towards Karma. Tiffany triggered the last one before cooldown, forcing Meteos and Sooyoung to use their Flash to get a little space. It wasn't enough, though, as we landed the Charm, and Jessica and Aurora were able to catch up and add more damage to make even more certain that we secured the match-winning second kill.

"Yes!" Tiffany cheered, jumping out of her seat as we all high-fived each other.

"Whoo!" Aurora shouted.

We then went over to our opponents, who met us halfway.

"Good game." Sneaky said, shaking our hand. "Holy s**t, my butthole."

"Oh, because you clenched so much after they jumped on us?" Yoona asked, shaking our hands and laying a hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah, we'll leave it at that tonight." Sneaky said, chuckling.

"Holy s**t, Jessica _noona_ 's been learning too much from being around us and Tiffany _noona_ looks like she's been putting in time too." Meteos said. "That CC chain was brutal."

"Hey, look at it this way. They had four NA players and we only had two." Sooyoung said with a smile.

We all burst out laughing. Balls managed to say, "Oh, man...is this what it's come to? Sooyoung also saying NA KR?"

"Well, honestly, that is yet to be seen...but that Jeti Caroura synergy was too strong." Sooyoung replied.

"That sounds like a concept vehicle or something." I said with a grin as we stepped away and the other eight stepped in.

Soon, we could also see that Taeyeon and Hai had picked Lux and Hyoyeon and Seohyun had picked Leona, while Sunny and Balls had taken Miss Fortune and Yuri and LemonNation had taken Nautilus.

"Oh, that's going to be interesting." Aurora said. "Lemon's been experimenting with support Nautilus and has worked with me a bit on that."

"Add in the fact that Hai's got one less pro player to work with and this could be a good one." Meteos said.

We then heard Hai saying, "Is it okay if I waive the honorifics for this? If I have to say 'Tae _noona_ ', 'Seo _noona_ ' and 'Hyo _noona_ ', I'm not going to be able to get the calls out fast enough."

"Don't worry, we understand." Seohyun replied.

"Ooh." Sooyoung said, rubbing her hands. "So this is the Hai shotcalling everyone talks so much about!"

As opposed to the first match, the match that ensued was more drawn out. One thing that we noticed, though, was that as expected, there was a difference in how each side was on the comms – which is nothing against either, just more of a contrast in styles than anything.

"If they stand behind each other, that's when we can make our move." Lemon said. "Especially now that we've got Dredge Line, so be ready to throw it out if you see them line up, okay, Yuri?

"Got it." Yuri replied, wiggling her index finger in anticipation over the R button.

"Okay, we'll keep the Bullet Time ready until then." Balls said.

"Just need to wait until they line up...thing is they're not giving too many chances." Sunny said, concentrating.

Meanwhile, Hai's shotcalling set the tone and meant the other team was talking a lot more to respond.

"Nice job on the combos, Taengoo – just watch that mana." Hai was saying.

"Yeah, don't worry, it made me figure that out fast, Hai. I'm making sure to save enough for the ulti in case Seo and Hyo can lock someone up." Taeyeon responded.

"Nice." Hai said. "Hey, Hyo, can you and Seo E onto MF? It can't be bodyblocked by someone standing in front."

"We'll do our best." Seohyun replied. "Hey, Hyo, you heard the man – if you can line up Zenith Blade, I'll go and fire it and then focus on keeping Miss Fortune locked up. Hai and Tae are keeping Final Spark in their back pocket, so if we can get Sunny and Balls, we can push even if we can't win it immediately like Sica, Fany, Aurora and Carlo did."

"Okay." Hyoyeon said.

"Wait until Tae and I have Q back up." Hai said. "I'll count you in. 3, 2, 1, now!"

In anticipation, Hyoyeon, who was on the mouse, had already lined up Zenith Blade onto Miss Fortune, and Seohyun, who was on the keyboard, hit E and successfully landed it.

"Got 'em!" Seohyun yelled.

"Nice! Kill Miss Fortune!" Hai shouted.

"Just keep those sights on them, Hai!" Taeyeon responded.

"Oh, they've got the Light Binding and Final Spark and Sunny and Balls don't have the defense!" Yoona said, comprehension dawning as Miss Fortune went down with Taeyeon firing that combo for most of the damage. "So they just basically went around Nautilus!"

"Pretty much." Aurora said. "And that's the downside to Nautilus building for tank and support and not for damage – that forces Lemon and Yuri to back off because they don't have enough damage to stop them by themselves. But they're already at the tower!"

"It's at least going to take a lot of damage since Shield of Daybreak is usable on structures and that definitely helps her pushing." I explained. "Lemon and Yuri had to recall as well after that because they went low, so this might do it!"

"Yeah, that's going to be it! They're trying to use that anchor to move faster along the wall and hurry back, but it's not fast enough!" Sooyoung said. "And there it is!"

Hai, Taeyeon, Hyoyeon and Seohyun celebrated and high-fived as the tower went down, but their celebration was more muted because it'd been more testing than our game had been.

"Oh, wow." Hyoyeon said as the opponents shook hands. "And the funny thing was Aurora was telling me that she needed to work on her stamina when she had dance practice with me and Jessica before the quarterfinals! I'd definitely have to work on the mental stamina for _League_ because I don't know how much longer I could have held on there."

Aurora grinned and patted her on the back, saying. "Don't worry - part of that was that you were handling the mouse, so that's a little more demanding than the keyboard alone. And you had to deal with a lot of communication."

"That's true." Hyoyeon said.

"Hey, that was a good support Naut performance even though we took that." Hai told Lemon.

"Thanks. Yuri did her best too." Lemon said. "Sorry I couldn't have done better." He finished apologetically, turning to her.

"Don't blame yourself – at least we made them have to come up with something special." Yuri replied.

"Good game, Sunny _noona_." Hai said as she shook her hand. "You too, Balls. You were working well out there."

"Yeah, she didn't want to lose to Taeyeon, so Tae's lucky she had you manning the mouse." Balls responded.

"I really was. I can see why he's the leader and shotcaller." Taeyeon answered.

After some more games, Jessica and Tiffany suggested a Mexican restaurant that they had passed by for dinner.

As Jessica said with a knowing smile as we approached, "There's no Chipotle in Korea, unfortunately, but I hope this works." The reason why it was a knowing smile was that she knew we hadn't eaten Mexican since we'd departed for boot camp the previous month.

"Don't worry, it should be good either way, Jessica _noona_ – we trust you guys on this." Meteos said, "Let me see if they can make my usual..."

"If they can, do you mind if I have one?" Sooyoung asked before Meteos went in.

"Sure!" Meteos replied, and he went through the door and to the counter.

About ten minutes later, he came back out smiling and handed what was clearly a foil-wrapped burrito to Sooyoung. "Yep, we're good! Cheers, Sooyoung _noona_."

"Thanks! And that's great – I'm glad they were able to help you out." Sooyoung said. "So what goes into the Meteos?"

"Chicken, white rice, mild salsa, pinto beans and cheese." Meteos replied.

"Oh, sounds good!" Sooyoung said, and she unwrapped hers and took a bite, saying once she'd swallowed, "Oh, I can see why you eat this as much as you do."

"We all eat it at least a bit each week – there's a reason why some have nicknamed us Chipotle 9." Sneaky said. "But Meteos puts away more than the rest of us do by far."

"Really?" Sooyoung asked, turning back to Meteos. "You know what the Korean term is for someone like you?"

"What's that?" Meteos asked in response once he'd finished another bite. "It's not anything bad, is it?"

"A _shikshin_." Sooyoung said, smiling reassuringly. "And don't worry, it isn't. It just means 'god of food'."

Meteos gave a big smile and touched his burrito to Sooyoung's as if they had champagne glasses.

* * *

Most times, as with other Western teams, a little extra work went into preparation at Worlds not just because of the stakes but because we were playing against teams we had rarely played against, if ever. This time, though, we were up against an opponent we knew perhaps better than any other in the field (and vice versa) because we'd gone toe to toe so often back home.

The C9-TSM storyline needed no introduction. Team SoloMid had won the very first split of the North American LCS in Spring 2013 against Good Game University (now Team Coast). Then the original Cloud 9 had turned up after qualifying for the Summer Split and been a thorn in their side since. Not only were we three-time defending NA LCS champions, but the last three NA LCS finals, including the one earlier in the fall at PAX Prime, had all been contested by our two teams. Three of our starters (Hai, Meteos and Sneaky) had played in all three, while four of their starters had done the same (Dyrus, TheOddOne, WildTurtle and Xpecial.) Our owner and co-founder Jack had even gotten his experience in management with TSM before he'd received Reginald's blessing to head his own brand, which became C9, while WildTurtle had been part of Quantic (which had become Cloud 9) and had been trained up a bit by LemonNation.

Also, not since the very first _League_ World Championship at Dreamhack Summer 2011 in Jönköping, Sweden had two North American teams faced each other in a Worlds playoff (specifically, TSM against Epik Gamer in a loser's bracket semifinal.)

"We are certain of one thing. If they had to choose between winning the last three NA LCS finals or winning this Worlds semifinal, they'd choose winning the semifinal, because we'd choose the same." Aurora said in some of her pre-match comments. Meanwhile, I was on the record as saying that I remembered how amazing it was when the GSL brought the Code S Finals to BlizzCon in 2011 – and now we were getting the chance to bring the NA LCS Finals to Korea with a spot in the Worlds Grand Finals on the line.

The semifinal venue was the Olympic Gymnastics Arena at the Olympic Park in Songpa-gu, Seoul, about an hour away from Fraser Place by foot and public transportation. As the name suggested, it had been built as the gymnastics venue for the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, and since then, it had become a famous concert venue. Girls' Generation had performed there, as had many other illustrious K-Pop and Western artists including Super Junior, Big Bang, Beyoncé and Taylor Swift...and now we, Team SoloMid, Samsung White and Oh My God would get to play there.

We went to watch the first semifinal between Oh My God and Samsung White the day before our semifinal, and something that proved to be fortuitous happened. In a very hotly contested series, OMG beat White in five games, mainly thanks to Gogoing and Cool even though the entire team played strongly. Even though we knew OMG was the real deal, we were picking our jaws off the floor because we admittedly were expecting to have to face SSW in the finals. Then we also gradually realized that everyone who'd been pulling for Samsung White first now had to choose between one of the remaining three teams to support, and the clear majority picked us. We understood that this meant that they would favor the winner of our semifinal, though, because either we or TSM would be up against the Chinese top guns who had knocked out the last Korean team in the tournament.

Following the first semifinal, Taeyeon suggested that we arrive at the Olympic Gymnastics Arena half an hour earlier than we had planned. The reason became apparent as we arrived to find that one of Girls' Generation's stylists and makeup artists was there to help us with makeup before we went out. The guys needed just facial powder, but Aurora was very happy at getting the chance to don that plus some vibrant pink lipstick and some eyelash curler.

After about fifteen minutes, Sunny, Yoona, Taeyeon, Tiffany and Jessica, who had been meeting TSM first (to make things fair) arrived, accompanied by another female idol who we recognized as Red Velvet's Wendy – Aurora's favorite female idol outside of Girls' Generation and someone who I'd become a fan of too. Then Taeyeon gave us another surprise, as she said, "We're actually also going to be helping with national anthems before everyone is seated. I'll be singing the Korean one, while Wendy will do the Canadian one and Tiffany and Jessica will do the American one."

* * *

Unlike in the first semifinal, where OMG and Samsung White entered from just offstage, we and TSM entered from the back going down towards the stage down one aisle each, slapping hands with fans all the way down. As big and energetic as the crowd had been in Busan, this crowd was even bigger and more amped up – and the fact that it was not hostile was a huge shot in the arm for everybody. As we made our way to the stage and then turned to face the audience, we could also see quite a few fans who had made the trip from North America.

Onstage close to our stations (called "sleds") were the banners of both the World Championship and the North American LCS. The American and Canadian flags also hung over the stage next to the South Korean one. Overall, it felt a lot like when we faced each other back in Los Angeles or Seattle, only kicked up quite a few notches because of the atmosphere, including even more fired-up voices exchanging dueling fan chants as we took the stage and were introduced.

 _"Cloud 9! Cloud 9! Cloud 9!"_

 _"TSM! TSM! TSM! TSM!"_

Then Taeyeon emerged and the crowd exploded. All of us on the Cloud 9 side grinned at seeing that there were apparently a ton of SONEs in the crowd, and I noticed WildTurtle and Xpecial grinning too. We then bowed our heads respectfully as she sang _Aegukga_ and then joined in the big applause that followed. Then the Canadians – Aurora, OddOne and WildTurtle – came to the center and locked arms as Wendy sang _O Canada_. More applause ensued, especially from Canadians and Red Velvet fans in the crowd, and finally, the Americans – our whole team minus Aurora and then also Dyrus and Xpecial – came to the center and locked arms as Tiffany and Jessica sang _The Star-Spangled Banner_ , which got a surprisingly raucous cheer from the SONEs and the Americans in the crowd.

It was a big reminder to both teams if any of us ever needed it that no matter who won, we had represented our countries and our region well and it would be up to us to do so again that night - and up to the winner to do so one more time in the final. Looking to my left and right during the anthems, everyone knew it, and it was written on our faces. A number of us had been mouthing or murmuring our anthems as they were sung as well.

We and TSM shook hands onstage with Tiffany, Jessica, Wendy and Taeyeon and then with each other before we broke to take our seats at our positions and get ready.

Game 1 was close with both of our teams fired up but not managing to land blows until we took a big fight at the Dragon that threw the game open for us. Game 2 was similar, only it happened even earlier and it accelerated faster since we had TSM firmly on their heels, meaning we headed offstage for the second break with a 2-0 lead and, needless to say, in even higher spirits.

* * *

While we were discussing Game 3 plans backstage, Sunny, Yoona and Taeyeon were interviewed for the OGN broadcast while Tiffany and Jessica headed to the Riot analyst desk for an interview.

 ** _Eefje "Sjokz" Depoortere (EU LCS):_** _Welcome back to the 2014 World Championship semifinals, where Cloud 9 is up 2-0 over Team SoloMid in this best-of-5. Right now...well, I think it should be said: "Right now, it's Girls' Generation!" Because we have the pleasure of being joined by a pair of special guests – two of the women who helped us with the anthems before this all-North American clash got underway. It's Girls' Generation's JeTi – Jessica and Tiffany! Thank you very much for being here tonight and helping us._

 _ **Tiffany:**_ _Thank you very much!_

 _ **Jessica:**_ _Thank you, Sjokz. Glad to be here._

 _ **Sjokz:**_ _Fantastic! I have to ask first...you and Cloud 9. It really has been an awe-inspiring story just from what we know about how you've interacted with each other since meeting at KCON – did you see think for one moment that this would happen?_

 _ **Tiffany:**_ _We certainly didn't, but looking back on it, it certainly wasn't an accident. I think both we and Cloud 9 not only enjoy each other's work but also see how hard the other group has been working, and we both want to do our best for our fans because we so often draw our strength from them and it makes us want to do something we haven't done before. And that admiration has drawn us closer."_

 _ **Jessica:**_ _There's a reason why we picked them even over SK Telecom - as funny as it sounds, we recognized that bit of ourselves in them and we know what it can do._

 _ **Sjokz:**_ _Wow. Let me stay with you for this next question, Jessica. What was it like hearing the C9 comms as they clinched victory against SKT last week saying that that win was for you?_

 _ **Jessica:**_ _It meant a lot, especially since they told me that not only did they want to support me during that tough period, but that they wanted to repay me for the support I gave after I was unable to travel to Guangzhou with the group. But I also knew it was for the group as a whole as well, and I did like that very much...I must say I don't think I could have inspired what they did against SK Telecom by myself._

 _ **Mitch "Krepo" Voorspels (Evil Geniuses, guest analyst):**_ _On a less serious note, and this is something you touched on...we've talked about imports a lot this year, especially in North America – (at Froggen) and yes, I know I'm part of that – for our viewers who aren't yet familiar with K-Pop or Girls' Generation, you two are actually, if we're speaking in_ _League_ _terms, North American imports to Korea, hence your name_ _ **s.**_

 _ **Tiffany:**_ _Some of the Cloud 9 players have referred to us as such, and we do have fun with it. I think that's a reason that, while they get along with all of us, it's been even easier in our case. And it's true – we were born in San Francisco – in the same hospital, actually...and both grew up in California. When we came to Korea – Sica did when she was 10, I did when I was 15 – we also attended the same foreign school in Seoul._

 _ **Jessica:**_ _I do remember that just after Cloud 9 beat SK Telecom, Sneaky said something when I was with them that made me laugh. He said, "NA Jessica KR Jessica." I told him later that he could have also said, "Jessica Sooyeon", which is my Korean name. Oh, quick quiz question – what's Tiffany's Korean name?_

 _ **Henrik "Froggen" Hansen (Alliance, guest analyst):**_ _Miyoung?_

 _ **Tiffany:**_ _Excellent! How did you find out? Because I was watching you and I know you didn't cop out and look at your notes._

 _ **Froggen:**_ _We scrimmed Cloud 9 ahead of the semifinals and I asked each who their favorite Girls' Generation member was. Carlo said you were his favorite and quizzed me on your Korean name. But still, that's unbelievable – and I need to listen to some of your music, but I can tell the synergy is real. If only Krepo and I were born in the same hospital and went to the same school...then maybe we win OGN Summer two years ago._

 _ **Krepo:**_ _That's probably you and Wickd since I'm not Danish, but thanks._

 _ **Trevor "Quickshot" Henry (EU LCS):**_ _On that subject, one of our production team members, who is an avid fan of yours, was telling me during the break that...we know that with and EG, the saying was "Fit with Snoopeh, Fat with Krepo, Fed with Froggen."_

 _ **Krepo:**_ _Yep._

 _ **Quickshot:**_ _Well, these girls don't so much have a saying...as they have their own drink!_

 _ **Froggen:**_ _No way!_

 _ **Quickshot:**_ _We have some of it here – for those who don't know, there is actually a chocolate drink called JeTi here in Korea and we have a box right here._

 _ **Jessica:**_ _I actually drank that in high school, so this came out before we made our debut with Girls' Generation._

 _ **Tiffany:**_ _Fans tell us that it fits us because it's sweet like our voices, and that always makes us happy._

 _ **Quickshot:**_ _I would call it a well-deserved honor for sure. Now, back to some more serious matters...by now, even those of us who are not familiar with K-Pop have heard the news that you announced, Jessica, following the quarterfinals, that your last performance before stepping down from Girls' Generation will be in one week on the same day as the final. Have you two or anyone in the group considered performing at the final? Before you answer, please also allow us to say thank you for everything that you and the group have given us._

 _ **Jessica:**_ _Thank you, Quickshot. That's very kind. In answer to that...we have. There are three things we can say...one, nothing is set in stone yet about whether we have that last performance at the final. Two, if we did, we wouldn't be pushing aside Imagine Dragons. Three, it must be said...if we did, nothing against the other teams, but we would love it if we got to perform after a Cloud 9 victory._

* * *

For Game 3, which we would play from the red side, we picked Jinx for Sneaky, Thresh for Aurora, Kha'Zix for Meteos and finally two off-the-wall picks: Orianna for me and Kennen for Hai (normally picks for mid and top, not the other way around), while TSM, knowing they were against the ropes, went to two unconventional but comfort picks in Dyrus' and OddOne's favorite champions: Singed and then Maokai in the jungle and also got LeBlanc for Bjergsen.

This time, though, TSM got off to a great start, especially thanks to Dyrus, OddOne and Xpecial. Bjergsen also got fed significantly more and earlier than he did in our other games in that series and back in North America, which was the last thing anyone facing TSM needed. Adding to that, Aurora went for an adventurous solo ward clear but got picked off.

"Sorry about that, I got impatient." Aurora said apologetically.

"Deep breath, everyone. Just gotta focus." I said supportively.

"Yeah, like I said, we have to know they're going to throw the kitchen sink at us when we're 2-0 up." Hai responded.

"Yeah..." Meteos said a bit sheepishly, before he said, "I think we can turn this quickly, though. I think they're going to try Baron...Wait, they are. I just saw them."

"Okay." Hai said. "Sneaky, Carlo and I all have ults ready. If they keep trying to take it, we'll go after them if they group."

"You smelling a steal, Meteos?" Sneaky asked with a grin.

"F**k yeah, I am." Meteos replied with a grin.

"We might get it, but even if they secure it, they're not leaving that fight alive." Hai said determinedly. "Worth either way."

"Heck yeah. Okay, let's put it together!" I said.

 _ **Joe:**_ _Baron has been dealing a lot of damage, though, and Hai and Carlo are there along with Meteos, all coming from different angles and managing to dodge the TSM wards and not reveal themselves early. We could have another big fight right now._

 _ **David "Phreak" Turley (NA LCS):**_ _In goes Hai with Slicing Maelstrom and tags four! Shockwave follows!_

 _ **Joe:**_ _Rocket's been fired as well and it's going to land!_

 _ **Phreak:**_ _Whoa! It does land and that's Bjergsen and Turtle gone! Hai, Meteos and Carlo are going after Dyrus and OddOne with TSM low on health and missing their damage! And down they go! Baron was secured by TheOddOne, but Team SoloMid just lost four of its members, so I'm not sure if that was worth!_

 _ **Joe:**_ _I don't think it was. Instead, it's going to be Cloud 9 pushing and getting one turret, maybe two._

 ** _Kobe_** _ **:**_ _You have to like the aggressive call there – even after Aurora gets picked off, the remaining four members of Cloud 9 are still ready if TSM tries to burst down the Baron with the man advantage and they line up this wombo combo beautifully. Hai gets in before anyone can react, gets his ultimate down, followed by the Shockwave and the Super Mega Death Rocket, and from there, it was an easy cleanup. Baron is secured and it's still on Xpecial, but those are about the only good things that came out of that fight for TSM._

We did indeed get a pair or turrets off of it and also got ourselves in position to keep eyes on whether TSM went for the Dragon when the next one arrived.

"Looks like someone's pulling on the line...make that five of them." Aurora set. "I should definitely be able to hook either Bjergsen or OddOne and give us the chance to burst him preemptively. I'm feeling it again."

"Nice." Hai said, poised. "Okay, start us off – that Dragon's going down fast."

"Come to mama..." Aurora said quietly but in a tone that still betrayed her focus. Then she saw it connect and yelled, "Got him!"

"Nice! Bjergsen! Kill Bjergsen!" Hai shouted.

 ** _Joe:_** _The hook lands onto Bjergsen! Shockwave goes down onto him and TheOddOne again! And this time, Meteos does come up with the steal! Another fight over an objective breaks out, and this time, Cloud 9 leave no one standing!_

 _ **Phreak:**_ _Dragon as well on top of that. Cloud 9 have come back from a 3,000 Gold deficit since before that fight at Baron to lead by almost 2,000 now, and it just looks to get bigger as they'll get more turrets off of this._

 _ **Kobe:**_ _You can also see that they're trying to settle down and re-establish vision control as well. It's one of those things that you can sometimes forget when trying to come back because your eyes are on that objective or that kill that can narrow or erase that gold deficit, but now that they're back in front, they're trying to do the little things as well to make sure TSM doesn't make another run._

We used the chance that ace gave us to push down mid, which we hadn't been able to do successfully that game yet, all the way to the inhibitor turret.

"Just make sure Sneaky doesn't die and we should have this siege." Hai said.

"Yeah, finally been able to eat this game instead of feeding. FeelsGoodMan." Sneaky said with a grin.

"Got you covered – saving Protect for if they try to take you out, Sneaky." I said reassuringly.

"Okay, Carlo, I'm counting on you." Sneaky responded. "Oh, here we go!"

 _ **Joe:**_ _Bjergsen goes in on Sneaky, but Carlo's ready with the Command: Protect and Sneaky stays alive. Aurora even lands another hook and they've killed Bjergsen again! I wouldn't even call that a bad decision from him – it was just an even better reaction by Cloud 9!_

 _ **Phreak:**_ _I completely agree, Joe. That means a 5v4 in favor of Cloud 9 and Meteos leaps forward with Aurora's lantern as a quick escape option and chunks WildTurtle to below half! Dyrus wants to look for the toss, but Aurora gets in and Flays him to disrupt that. Nobody else goes down, but TSM's forced to back off and this will likely be their inhibitor going down_ _ **.**_

 _ **Kobe:**_ _A huge pick there, especially with Baron respawning just now. Bjergsen is not coming back for another ten seconds and Cloud 9 is making sure all of their vision is in place so that they can track TSM while they start it up._

As it turned out, TSM elected to concede the Baron since we'd knocked out one of their inhibitors and their strongest player, so we quickly took it down and launched a 4-1 split push with Meteos mid and pushing and empowering a wave going towards TSM's Nexus turrets while the rest of us besieged the top inhibitor turret.

 _ **Phreak:**_ _Keep your eyes on Aurora here – she has really stepped up with those hooks. If she gets another one, it very well could be a ticket to the finals that she reels in too for Cloud 9._

 _ **Joe:**_ _Hook goes out and she's got one, all right, and it's WildTurtle! He gets locked up and finished off, and that's a 4v3 now in favor of C9 as Meteos is keeping Dyrus busy! TSM has got to go in and they do as OddOne activates Vengeful Maelstrom and looks for Sneaky. Bjergsen does so as well, but the Slicing Maelstrom / Shockwave combo lands again! Sneaky's still not down and is still doing so much damage! It's a triple kill for him in the end as Cloud 9 look to go all the way!_

"Mom, what's in the box?!" Meteos was screaming ecstatically.

"Hey, I'm not Mrs. Hartman, but I'll tell you what it is, Meteos – a ticket to the Worlds finals!" I yelled.

 _ **Phreak:**_ _As the Nexus turrets fall, it's on the other side of the Pacific, but it's a familiar story: Cloud 9 rises above TSM and they will represent North America in the World Championship finals against OMG!_

It was as we took off our headsets and jumped up that the noise hit us again and the feeling overtook us that we were seriously doing something that nobody in our region had done before. There was now a World Championship grand final in one week – and we would be the first North American team to play in it.

"We made it!" Sneaky yelled, almost gruffly. "It's lit, fam!"

"We're going to the 'ship! We're going to the 'ship!" Aurora was chanting as we huddled up.

"Yo, one more to go, but if we do what we did tonight, we can be World Champions. Let's do it!" Hai exhorted, and we all agreed as we broke the huddle.

We went over to Team SoloMid and they, like SKT, were understandably down on themselves. However, when we came over, they were quicker to graciously get to their feet and shake hands with us.

"Hey, good game. You guys be sure to beat OMG for us, all right?" Dyrus told Hai.

"We got you, fam." Hai replied.

"The score might say otherwise, but that was no stomp." I said to TheOddOne as I shook his hand. "You guys made us work for that."

"Thanks, man." He replied. "Promise is a promise – we'll be there at the final to cheer you on!"

"We'll do our best for you guys too, don't worry." Aurora said, clapping him on the shoulder.

We also did the same thing as we'd done with SKT after the previous round and invited them to take a bow onstage with us. They then went off to allow us our moment of glory, and as the crowd chanted as one, I could feel more energy than what they'd given to OMG the previous night. I looked at the others and saw that they sensed it too – another collective message saying, _Do it for us!_

* * *

Following our interviews and packing our gear, the Soshis offered to take us in a pair of vans to Seoul World Cup Stadium so we could see right away where we would be playing in a week's time, and we immediately accepted. We thus made the trip over there and had the honor of looking up at it, lit up as night had fallen, and marveling at it while also savoring the fact that in one week, we would play there for all the marbles.

There was no shortage of hugging and cheering as Seohyun, Sooyoung, Yuri and Hyoyeon, who had finished their schedules, greeted the other twelve of us as we arrived. Soon, though, everyone fell quiet as the Soshis realized that we were taking in the stadium in full because we were awestruck by it. Built for the 2002 World Cup, it was and remains the largest purpose-built soccer (football) stadium in Asia and had also hosted concerts including the SM Live World Tour opening stop earlier that August, which Girls' Generation had been a part of, and is by far the biggest venue in terms of seating capacity and size to host a _League of Legends_ match.

Hai was the first to speak again, and he just managed to say two words, although they resonated with everyone. "One more."

"One more." Taeyeon agreed, taking his hand as they smiled at each other.

"One more." Jessica echoed, though, like Taeyeon, it was for both the same and different reasons and her smile had some wistfulness to it.

"Hey, Sica...don't worry. You deserve to be there. _I_ want you there." Taeyeon said, holding out her hand encouragingly.

"Thanks a lot, Taengoo." Jessica replied gratefully, and she hugged her quickly but tightly before she accepted her hand.

Aurora smiled at that and finished doing a brief bit with her phone. In a moment, we could see what, as her headset, which was around her neck, began playing some some classic Wonder Girls that made us smile and captured the moment.

 _I want nobody, nobody but you  
I want nobody, nobody but you  
Nan dareun sarameun sirheo  
Niga animyeon sirheo  
I want nobody, nobody, nobody, nobody_

 _ **English**_ _  
I want nobody, nobody but you  
I want nobody, nobody but you  
I don't want anyone else  
I can't have anyone but you  
I want nobody, nobody, nobody, nobody_

"Come on, let's get the team in so you can see just what it's like in there." Taeyeon said, turning to Hai with an even brighter smile, waving us onward and approaching one of the security personnel, who smiled and opened the closest door.

 _ **Semifinal Results**_ _– Venue: Olympic Gymnastics Arena, Seoul_  
Semifinal 1 (October 11th) – Oh My God (China) 3-2 Samsung Galaxy White (Korea)  
Semifinal 2 (October 12th) – Cloud 9 (North America) 3-0 Team SoloMid (North America)

 _ **The Final**_ _– Venue: Seoul World Cup Stadium_  
Final (October 19th) – Oh My God (China) vs. Cloud 9 (North America)


	5. Final vs OMG: Crescendo

_**Author's Notes**_  
 _I wrote a lot of this as we had the climax to the group stages and Cloud 9 advancing by the skin of their teeth to the quarterfinals to face Samsung. Still on a big high after that – and I know Samsung will be no picnic, but the team's already equaled its best performance at Worlds and has a chance to go farther than they ever have. One thing's for sure – I'll be watching the action from Chicago with bated breath this whole week because every quarterfinal has a big reason to watch! I'm also planning to do two more chapters before I consider this complete, though I may add more afterwards.  
Usual rules apply – reviews welcome, but please, no flaming because you're not a fan._

* * *

 _ **2014**_ _ **League of Legends**_ _ **World Championship  
Grand Finals  
Seoul World Cup Stadium (Sangam Stadium), Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea  
October 19th**_

 _ **Cloud 9 (North America)  
**_ Top - Carlo (Phillip Carlo Santos, USA)  
Jungle - Meteos (Will Hartman, USA)  
Mid - Hai (Hai Du Lam, USA)  
AD Carry - Sneaky (Zach Scuderi, USA)  
Support - Aurora (Carolina Aurora Lea, Canada)  
Substitute - Balls (An Van Le, USA)  
Coach/Emergency Sub - LemonNation (Daerek Hart, USA)

 _ **Oh My God (China)**_  
Top - Gogoing (Gao Di-Ping, China)  
Jungle - Loveling (Yin Le, China)  
Mid - Cool (Yu Jia-Jun, China)  
AD Carry - San (Guo Jun-Liang, China)  
Support - Cloud (Hu Zhen-Wei, China)  
Substitute - DaDa777 (Fang Hong-Ri, China)

The final quickly became the talk of Seoul and of Korea, to say nothing of the entire _League of Legends_ competitive scene (especially in North America and China) and even of the E-Sports world. As we walked around, it was hard not to see print and video advertisements from the final showing either us, Oh My God or both. Prep was also back to very serious since it was the finals and since we hadn't faced OMG nearly as much as we'd faced Team SoloMid.

At the same time, it was also the last week before Girls' Generation's final performance before Jessica stepping down, and there was still no word about where it would be or at what time it would be. Particularly after Tiffany and Jessica's interview with Sjokz, Quickshot, Froggen and Krepo during our semifinal against TSM, a few people were speculating that it could have something to do with the final. With just a few days to go, it was also confirmed that it would just be a single song.

To add to things, two of us had meetings with Soshis concerning affairs of the heart – Hai with Taeyeon and me with Tiffany. In both cases, a lot of texts had been exchanged since boot camp the previous month, and they'd requested to meet with us alone since before the quarterfinals. I later confirmed with Hai that neither of us had certainly never expected we'd be in that kind of situation when we'd met Girls' Generation at KCON in August, which already seemed like a long time ago.

* * *

On Thursday night, I went to meet Tiffany at a lounge. Before she could make her way there, though, she texted me saying that something had come up – as I later found out, it was something regarding a later schedule.

She'd received a text from me saying that I was waiting there. When she texted me ten minutes later saying she was still being held up, though, there was no response. Very worried, she had arrived at the lounge thirty minutes late – as she later told me, she wouldn't have blamed me one bit if I'd decided to get up and leave.

When she got there, though, she found that I hadn't left yet and also found out why I hadn't left or responded to her second text. I was seated by myself at the back with a glass of Coca-Cola. My forearms were on the table and my chin was resting on my hand, and as she got closer, she could see that I had dozed off waiting. As she found out from me later that meeting, I'd slept badly because I'd been particularly restless over the coming series.

She later said she felt guilty that I'd waited so long that I'd fallen asleep as she woke me as gently as she could with a sideways hug. However, I still started, gasping, "Aah!" I then looked around a bit wildly before I digested where I was and said quietly but audibly enough, "Oh, thank goodness..." I could also hear and feel myself breathing a bit heavily.

"Did you have a bad dream?" Tiffany asked, recognizing what must have happened.

"Yeah." I managed to say.

"Oh, no...was it because of me? I'm so sorry..." She said apologetically.

"Don't worry, it wasn't. You were in it, but it wasn't because of a mistake you made. It was something I did." I said in a similar tone.

"What was it?" She asked, concerned.

I took a sip of my Coke to gather myself and then replied, "I dreamt we'd lost the final...I felt so bad seeing the looks on everyone's faces, but the worst part was seeing yours. You looked so heartbroken, so disappointed...It broke my heart too." As it was with dreams, the images faded from my mind – in this case, mercifully – but that last image stuck to me for a little longer and made me promise myself that I'd do all I could to not let it happen.

"Is that what you're afraid of? Letting people down?" Tiffany asked.

"Not just that...it's what I fear more than anything else." I replied sincerely. "More than failure, more than even death."

"Really?" She asked, stunned.

"Really." I answered, not averting my eyes.

"Do you mean...you don't want to disappoint me the most because you care about me that much?" She asked.

For a second, I felt myself frozen by fear. Then I remembered that emotional night at Fraser Place, when Jessica had told me to not be afraid to open up to Tiffany and I'd promised to be brave, and I found my voice and allowed myself to be daring and take the plunge.

"It's true...I've fallen for you, Tiffany _noona_. I love how you light up the world with everything you have – your smile, your eye smile, your voice, your kindness, your laughter – like you were born to do it...and in my mind, you _were_ born to do it. I even love how brave you are – you proved it when you decided to come here to chase your dreams and I know you've only become braver since. And all that's without me saying you're beautiful."

I looked her in the eyes to both underline my point and gauge her response. I couldn't tell much – only that she was taken aback.

"I know there's so many people who could make you happier more easily than I can and I know I'm far from perfect, but if you granted me the chance, I'd do all I could to give you some light in return."

After a few moments, she said, "Oh, my...Carlo...I..."

"Hang on...whether it's yes or no, please don't tell me now. Save it until after the finals." I said.

"Are..are you still mad at me because I was so terribly late?" Tiffany asked, clearly worried.

"It's not that, don't worry." I said gently. "I promise. It's just that if you give an answer right now, no matter what it is, I might not be as focused as I need to be."

* * *

"Why, Jessi?" She had asked Jessica, puzzled. "Why did he tell me not to say anything? Did he think I was going to reject him?"

"I think I know, Tiff." Jessica replied. "He thought it through and decided that if you rejected him, he would have been heartrboken, and if you accepted him, he'd be so happy that he might not be able to think straight. Either way, he wouldn't be in the best shape emotionally. So he just didn't trust himself to properly deal with your response before the finals."

"I understand..." Tiffany said. Amazingly, I later found out that she was wiping her eyes here. "That's wise of him."

"What would you have told him?" Jessica asked.

Tiffany took a moment but then said firmly but sincerely, "I've fallen for him too..." Then she added, "I should apologize to him so much, because I was just so stunned at him feeling the same way that he probably thinks I don't like him."

"It's okay. I have a feeling it will work out...Can I tell you something?" Jessica asked, laying a hand on her arm comfortingly. "When you texted him on the night I went to Fraser Place, I told him to not be afraid to open himself up to you for two reasons. One, you're my best friend, and two, I could tell what you thought of him. Just the fact that you asked him if you could meet him alone told me a lot."

"Thanks a lot, Jessi." Tiffany replied, giving her a quick sideways hug.

"Anything for you." Jessica replied. "Was there anything else from your time with him?"

"Yes." Tiffany replied. "I asked him, 'You're a DJ...could you find a way to play a song we really like tomorrow when you're onstage? In a manner of speaking, of course.'"

"What did he say?" Jessica asked.

Tiffany responded, "He grinned and replied, 'We do have a little strat that we haven't dared tell anyone about. It needs to be into the right kind of opposing team comp, but we'll definitely keep our eyes out. Not only is it something I've wanted to do, but it's become something _we've_ wanted to do for a while now.'"

Jessica smiled. "Knowing him, if he gets the chance, he'll do it. And the rest of the team will be ready to back it up."

* * *

On Friday, Hai met with Taeyeon again at a snack bar.

"I've never had the chance to play at a stadium like we will on Sunday, and given what's happened to me, I don't know when or if I'll have the chance again." Hai was saying. "Well, maybe IEM Katowice, but I don't really count that since they used only half of it."

"I think you also don't count it because it was the last tournament that you entered and didn't win." Taeyeon said understandingly. "I'd have done the same."

"Yeah, that too. That was the last one before Aurora and Carlo joined the main roster." Hai said, nodding.

"What was it like after you had the collapsed lung?" Taeyeon asked. "Sunny does deal with it as best as she can, but you've probably heard or seen that she's had to deal with those knee problems."

"It's okay. It does mean I can't practice as I long...I think the wrist problems have been more worrying, though, because that's what bothers me more often during a game." He replied.

"How do you manage to lead and shotcall as well as you can after all that?" She asked.

"I basically force myself to believe we're better than the other team, even if we're not at a certain point in the game." He responded. "Because if I don't, then I can't make the right calls."

Taeyeon's smile grew into one of kinship, admiration and affection, while Hai's was part cheeky and part abashed.

"I haven't had to compete head to head as much as you have and it's been so long, but I remember that so well. Having to wake up in those early days and continually tell myself that we were good enough...that we had what it took even when we hadn't yet made our mark." She said. Hai said he could tell she was reaching back to what seemed like days long gone, even though it had only been 2007.

"Because if you don't believe it..." Hai said.

"Then the team won't..." Taeyeon continued knowingly.

"And they can tell..." Hai continued, nodding...

"...Even if you don't say anything." They finished together.

They shared a laugh. She then said, "Can I ask you something else?"

"Sure, go right ahead." He answered.

"Was that basically what you were thinking when you asked if we could schedule our last performance with Jessica until after the finals?" She asked.

"That was part of it. What also gave me the courage to do that was...I could sense something." Hai said, and it was his turn to cast his mind back, though not nearly as far. "I could tell Sneaky, Meteos and Lemon all wanted to do something, to say nothing of Balls, Aurora and Carlo, when Jessica gave us the news. I then made the request, because I could tell for sure I wasn't the only one who was going to go in with that drive. And that's when I found out that all of them would because they were ready to fight for you guys too."

"Any idea on who they wanted to fight for most of the nine of us?" Taeyeon inquired.

"Well, I'm fairly confident in saying that all of us wanted to do it for Jessica because she was in the most pain, but she's taken." Hai said with a chuckle. "Yuri for Lemon, but he's got a girlfriend and is happy with her. Meteos and Sneaky for Sooyoung and Yoona..."

"Seohyun too, I think. She knows Sneaky's one of your _maknaes_." Taeyeon said.

"Good point. From there, Aurora for Hyoyeon as a friend, Balls for Sunny and Carlo for Tiffany."

Taeyeon smiled, nodded and then asked, "And what about you?"

Hai smiled. He then asked, "Well, let me try this...If there's one single member of SNSD you want me to fight for on Sunday, Taengoo _noona_ , who is it?"

Taeyeon's smile changed to something neither Hai or any of us had seen up close. She motioned as if she wanted to take Hai's hand, and he smiled, nodded and allowed her to do so.

"Hai, could that one be me?" She asked.

"I was hoping you'd say that." He answered. "I'd be happy to fight for you on Sunday...beyond that if you'd let me."

"I would love that." Taeyeon said, and she leaned closer and kissed him on the cheek. " _Saranghaeyo_ , Hai."

" _Anh yêu em_." Hai replied, smiling as he returned the kiss. " _Saranghaeyo_ , Taeyeon _noona_."

"Oh, Vietnamese?" Taeyeon replied with a cheeky grin. "Oh, that's right, because your family's from there!"

Hai returned the grin. "Just don't ask me to say it in Chinese – I'll need some good lessons from Hyoyeon before I can do that if that's what you want."

* * *

On the night before the final, Girls' Generation visited the World Cup Stadium again and made the home locker room, which we would be using, one of their final stops. They found the lockers with our name plates above them and placed our new jerseys **_(Author's Note: the 2016 jerseys, only with the 2014 sponsors)_** , which had country flags added to the sleeves, inside along with individual letters that they had written (for example, Aurora had letters from Jessica and Hyoyeon, while Hai had a letter from Taeyeon.) They also left another envelope in each of our lockers, which read,

 _Dear Cloud 9,_

 _We've always said that while we are nine different people, we are as one, and that means we feel each other's pain and also share each other's joy as if it were our own. Today is no different._

 _Every fight, every kill, every death, every defeat, every victory...we'll feel it with you._

 _But don't be afraid. We know and believe in our hearts that you can accomplish what you set out to do tomorrow not just for yourselves...not just for us too...but for all who believe in you...here, back in North America, and even around the world._

 _Embrace the moment. Amaze us. Make us dream._

 _And no matter what, we'll be watching throughout and we'll be there before it's all over._

 _You've already proven that you're winners and champions. Now go out and prove you're world champions._

 _All our love,_  
 _소녀시대 (So Nyuh Shi Dae / Girls' Generation)_

* * *

Before they went to the final, though, there were some schedules that Girls' Generation had been unable to get out of, as they had both hinted at and explained to us. For example, Taeyeon and Jessica were making a guest appearance on a radio show just after Game 1 – which OMG won. The Soshis knew from us and from what they'd read elsewhere that Oh My God was also coming into the grand finals in great shape. We'd beaten them at All-Stars, but they had also been using Xiyang as a substitute for their regular mid-laner Cool, the most popular active Chinese mid following the retirement of Team WE's Misaya. They'd also always been able to rely on captain and top-laner Gogoing, widely considered the best top-laner in the LPL, and jungler Loveling, while support Cloud had stepped up after being subbed in following the group stage.

During the tournament, they'd also delved into the K-Pop/C-Pop scene when they did a cover of EXO-M's _Light of the Planet_ , which was seriously cool to see. All that said, though, the girls were still shocked and understandably worried when they took the first game.

Before they went into the studio, Taeyeon saw Jessica take a phone call, where she finished by saying, "Yes. Thank you very much! Okay, we'll see you as soon as we can."

"Who was that?" Taeyeon asked.

"It's Jack." Jessica answered.

"Oh, Cloud 9's owner?" Taeyeon asked, coming over. "What did he say?"

"He said the team's refocusing, getting over their nerves...and he also told me congratulations." Jessica replied, breaking into a smile.

"What's going on?" Taeyeon asked excitedly.

"I took some time to think just after the semifinals and thought back to how much I enjoyed being with Cloud 9 before quarterfinals when I couldn't make it to Guangzhou with the girls...I asked him if I could join as a consulting manager after I stepped down from the group." Jessica answered.

"And?" Taeyeon asked, now smiling too.

"You won't believe this...he told me he'd love it!" Jessica answered. "He said he remembered how well the team responded to me being there before the quarterfinals."

Taeyeon's smile grew even more, and she engulfed Jessica in a sisterly hug. "Congratulations, Sica! I couldn't think of a better person for that to happen to! You know else that means, right?"

"What is it?" Jessica asked.

"We'll really still be one even though you'll be with Aurora and the boys and get to do your own thing too – they are part of us, after all." Taeyeon answered, tightening her hug again. "I'm so happy for you!"

"It's more than I could have hoped for, Tae." Jessica said, starting to tear up. "I always thought this day would be so bittersweet...and it still will be...but at least I get to celebrate starting a new chapter too."

"They'll make sure you really get that chance. They're going to have to kill Hai – and I mean _literally_ kill him – to stop him from fighting for that championship." Taeyeon said firmly. "And that's to say nothing about the others."

* * *

About 50 minutes later, they had finished up, and Sunny, who had been finishing a schedule of her own nearby, came running up to them.

"They won Game 2!" She exclaimed, glowing.

"Yes!" Jessica exclaimed, giving a big sigh of relief, cheering and high-fiving them.

"All right!" Taeyeon whooped, before she asked Sunny, "What happened?"

"They outmaneuvered them and managed to pull off a backdoor! Hai managed to end the game while OMG was trying for Baron!" Sunny said excitedly.

Taeyeon's face flushed with excitement as Sunny pulled up the replay on her phone. Hai had used Twisted Fate's Destiny / Gate to catch a wave of super minions and backdoor OMG while the rest of us had kept OMG busy near the Baron and prevented them from recalling.

Her face lit up as she saw OMG's Nexus explode, and she said quietly but clearly, "Hai, you magnificent man." Then she turned to the others who were there and said, "Okay. Everyone to the World Cup Stadium as soon as they're able. Our other seven members need us there!"

Texts flew out as well, and it soon became evident that nobody needed to be told twice. Girls' Generation was on its way to the World Cup Stadium post haste.

* * *

Luckily, none of the others was that far away, and everyone was at the stadium and getting ready by the time Game 3 got underway.

In the meantime, even more people were filing into the stadium, adding to the already great crowd that had been there when the broadcast had started, and while we didn't know it yet, just about all of them were on our side. With the increased interest in the final, previously unopened seating sections had been opened on the day of the final itself, and SM had pulled off a big feat in buying up the vast majority of them after Girls' Generation had first privately disclosed to the people upstairs that they were interested in performing at the final. They then gave them to _League_ -playing SONEs, prioritizing honorable players (meaning those who weren't or hadn't been banned or chat-restricted for toxicity and such), collaborating with Riot Korea to verify their records. As Sunny later told us, "We've never leaned on it too much, but there are times we're glad that my uncle's the top person at SM." The group had then explained to those who had tickets – who had then spread the word – that if the performance wasn't at the final, then they would tell them where it was and provide the transportation there. The response from the fans had been very positive – including because many said they hoped to see them perform after we won.

On that subject, Taeyeon, who got ready first, made a beeline for Imagine Dragons, who had the final say on whether that idea could go ahead because they were the originally announced closing ceremony concert act, since they had provided _Warriors_ as the theme of the 2014 Worlds. She had an idea that involved one of them and was hoping they could help with it.

Meanwhile, the others were congratulating Jessica on joining Cloud 9 and shared Taeyeon's sentiment down to the last woman – it meant that while she was stepping down, they really still would be one because she was joining us after they'd welcomed us and begun to consider us as a part of them following our resolution that Hai had led to win Worlds for them while their original roster was still together. They were also watching Game 3 intently, with those who were still getting ready relying on the commentary and the other girls' reactions.

"Oh, yes!" Sooyoung burst out. "That's our Meteos!"

"What happened?" Seohyun asked, unable to look over because she was one of the ones who was still getting her makeup done.

"OMG tried to rush Baron after they nearly killed Sneaky, but Meteos managed to steal it! They got a couple more kills on top of it and they're pushing!" Sooyoung replied ecstatically.

"Are they going for the win right now?" Seohyun asked, also excited.

"Not quite, but they're getting very close!" Yuri replied, who was also watching the broadcast after she finished getting ready. "I think it's going to be 2-1 and match point soon enough!"

"It should be." Hyoyeon said. "I'm confident that Cool didn't mean any disrespect, but I really didn't want him to win against Aurora and the boys after he picked Ahri!"

"At least he picked Dynasty Ahri and not Popstar Ahri." Tiffany said gratefully. "That would have felt so awkward."

Everyone nodded together. Seohyun and Yoona were the last two to finish getting ready, but as they turned to watch the screen, they saw us ace OMG after Aurora, who was playing Nami, landed a massive Tidal Wave that allowed us to clean up with Sneaky and Meteos in the lead. OMG, wanting to get it behind them and move on mentally to Game 4, didn't even wait for us to take out their Nexus.

"Oh, it's a surrender!" Hyoyeon said, as everyone whooped.

"It is! Wow...you can tell they're in their opponents' heads right now." Tiffany said.

Meanwhile, we all celebrated a bit but showed more steely focus than anything as we headed offstage, though we made sure to wave to the crowd. _One more game,_ we were all thinking.

"Is it just me, or do they look even more handsome and beautiful today?" Jessica asked. They could also see that Aurora had a new ruffled skirt that she hadn't worn onstage that went above her knees and was white with a blue hem and sash, while I had opted for some changes too with an elbow-length white undershirt that went past my jersey and black shin-length pants with white socks. Sneaky had also been steadily losing weight since we'd arrived in Korea and looked very slim.

"They really do, Sica _unnie_." Yoona said, smiling. "They knew they had to really look good for today like us."

Each Girls' Generation outfit for the final performance – ranging from separate short skirts and tops to dresses reaching to above the knees – had both the pink "GG Crown" Girls' Generation emblem that dated back to their self-titled debut album and a blue Cloud 9 emblem, with their name next to a small country flag below the GG Crown. All were predominantly white with blue skirts, accents or both, with the exception of Jessica's, which was a blue sleeveless top with a white skirt as a nod to her joining C9, and included high heels. They bore a further resemblance to our jersey in that the tops also bore our sponsor logos (in their case, down the right side below the C9 logo.)

They also finished putting on jackets so they didn't give away everything if the cameras went on them, which they were bound to.

Sunny then reached for the door handle to peek outside, but Taeyeon stopped her, looking back at the screen. "Wait, Sunny – I think they're going by outside." She said cautiously.

Sure enough, a backstage camera on the Riot broadcast showed that both we and OMG were going by the room where they'd been getting ready.

About ten minutes after we'd passed, they got in some brief extra practice and then left the room. Eventually, they emerged to take their seats in the front row of one of the newly opened sections, which was filled with people who were SONEs cheering for C9, and amazing sight greeted their eyes.

The stadium nights were ablaze as night had fallen, and over 60,000 people were seated in the stands and in seats on the field, many of whom had Thunder Stix and signs. North American and Chinese fans were also distinguishable since they'd brought American, Canadian and Chinese flags. Two elevated walkways connected to platforms in front of the stands at the goal ends, and it was by this way that we and OMG had entered at the start of the series. Another path went from the players' tunnel at midfield and up stairs to the stage. On this stage were the two banks of stations, but this time, the two banks faced each other and also pointed towards the center, where the silver bejeweled Summoner's Cup rested on a pedestal. Our side had our team banner and the NA LCS banner, while OMG's side had their team banner and the LPL banner. Numerous video screens were also set up so people could see what was going on while still being able to see the stage. Also, as the girls later found out from us, our NA LCS and LPL colleagues who had also played in the tournament were in the front rows behind the two teams to lend their support to the finalists.

We were already seated again, as was OMG, because the draft for Game 4 was about to begin.

* * *

 _ **Deman:**_ _So, is this the moment? Cloud 9 are on championship point here at the World Championships and they have two chances to win it, but they'll want to do it on the first one. What do you think comes out from OMG, who have to be reeling after that last game where they had Baron stolen?_

 _ **Joshua "Jatt" Leesman (NA LCS):**_ _I do think they go to comfort picks because Cloud 9 has won two different ways using two different team comps now after they shook off their nerves in the first game. I'd expect to see OMG ban Cloud 9's picks from the previous game as much as possible to minimize them playing champions they're red hot with. I also wonder if, since Cloud 9 is on blue side again, whether Hai picks away Zed from Cool if it goes unbanned._

 _ **Rivington "Riv" Bisland III (NA LCS):**_ _If that's the case, maybe OMG will end up essentially wasting a ban on a champion Cloud 9 doesn't want to play in this game anyway, and the way Cloud 9 is playing, OMG needs everything they can get._

The girls finished taking their seats just as the bans finished – we banned Kassadin, Kha'Zix and Tristana while OMG banned Leona, Sona and Twisted Fate – and held their breath as they knew the picks would start in earnest right there and then.

 _ **Jatt:**_ _Oh, wow, first pick Soraka for Cloud 9!_

 _ **Deman:**_ _So Aurora gets her signature champion and you can see how happy she is about that...do you think Cloud 9 are thinking now about what champions they want the designers to make skins for if they win this?_

 _ **Riv:**_ _Possibly, but we have to think they also have a comp that would work around it._

 _ **Jatt:**_ _Well, they certainly have run quite a few successful comps around her on the way here. OMG's first two picks are now also in – Jayce comes in, which we've seen Cool play, as well as Jinx for San, and that's a lot of poke straight away._

 _ **Deman:**_ _And another quick reply – this is a heck of a hover in response. Zac and Draven for Meteos and Sneaky, which are two more signature champions._

 _ **Riv:**_ _We see them smiling – are they going to lock them in?_

 _ **Jatt:**_ _This crowd hasn't seen them do it here in Korea, but they're anticipating having that chance...and they will get it as they do lock them in!_

 _ **Deman:**_ _Oh, this is looking to be a firecracker straight away – all three of Cloud 9's initial picks are not just comfort picks but the champions people associate with them the most. This looks to be fun to watch, no question – let's just hope it pans out once again._

 _ **Riv:**_ _Rengar and Ryze are the next two picks for OMG, so this is going to be an especially scary team if they get ahead or even just hold on and get to late game. And of course, Gogoing has to be happy at getting to play Ryze again with everything on the line._

 _ **Deman:**_ _Carlo just let out a big sigh of relief. I think he's going to get the pick he wants. Only question is, what does he have in mind this time? We've seen him win tonight with Sejuani and then draw a Leona ban after another stellar performance._

 _ **Jatt:**_ _That anxious look has been turning into a smile quickly. What do they have up their sleeves? Whoa!_

 _ **Riv:**_ _Oh, boy!_

 _ **Deman:**_ _Ahri and Zed are the final two picks for Cloud 9!_

"Oh, my God, they actually picked her!" Jessica yelled.

"Oh, wow!" Taeyeon exclaimed, her hands going to her head. "My gosh...Okay, Zed has to be Hai's pick. So does that mean Carlo's picking Ahri in the top lane?"

"Looks like it...do you think he's going to pick our skin?" Yuri asked.

"I think...I think he just might." Tiffany said with nervous excitement, thinking back to what I'd told her.

 _ **Jatt:**_ _I definitely can't tell what's going on here either. From what little I know at this point, here's what I can say: It's possible that it's Hai who has the pocket Ahri, but it's much more likely that he takes Zed, which he has had a resurgence on including in the quarterfinal perfect game against SK Telecom, which means this is a top-lane Ahri for Carlo, which is something we've never seen before at professional level – certainly not in North America._

 _ **Deman:**_ _We've certainly never seen it in Europe either – I don't think it's a wild guess to say that this is the first Ahri top we've ever seen at Worlds, if not ever period in professional play. We see Morgana as the last pick for OMG, and that has to be just for the added sieging and engage._

 _ **Riv:**_ _I would certainly agree. So there's a lot of pick and assassination potential on C9's side, while OMG brings a lot of late-game power, poke and siege. I'll also be interested to see what Carlo's build path is since this is the first top-lane Ahri any of us have seen at this level._

 _ **Deman:**_ _We will see what happens – you know the deal by now! Make your voice heard on Twitter – tweet LOLESports with the hashtag #C9WIN or #OMGWIN...Jatt, you just saw something on the screen, laughed and smiled – you want to be the one to tell the people at home what it is?_

 _ **Jatt:**_ _We have it on our screens and you guys watching are about to see it on the team comp screen: Carlo has Popstar Ahri picked, and that's the Girls' Generation skin we were talking about – the one inspired by the custom skin made here in Korea that in turn inspired by the_ _Genie_ _music video._

 _ **Deman:**_ _And there it is! And as you can imagine, the girls are loving it. We've talked for a while now about how Cloud 9 has interacted with and responded to Girls' Generation...how incredible would it be if this is the pick that gets them over the line and gets North America their first world champion?_

 _ **Jatt:**_ _Well, granted, it's way off meta, but the reason we saw Carlo so relieved is that he saw the Ryze and knew that if he picked it, he'd have a matchup that would not be out of place in the mid lane. This is an approach that C9 used a lot when they first qualified for the LCS – on paper, Hai was mid and Balls was top, but they would just treat it as just solo laning and swap constantly. That said, this is obviously to a whole new extent because we've never seen Ahri and Zed in the same team with the stakes this high._

One could tell how many SONEs were in the crowd because they, down to the last person, joined the Soshis in standing up and cheering as the Popstar Ahri pick was shown on the observer camera when the game started.

"Oh, my God, they're doing it!" Tiffany yelled.

She and Jessica then looked at each other and said together, "They're playing our song."

All of the others nodded and smiled wholeheartedly, beaming from ear to ear but waiting to unleash their energy, because the Chinese contingent in the stadium was trying to boost OMG, especially since they were facing elimination: _"OMG, jia you! OMG, jia you!"_

Sunny and Taeyeon waited until that cheer faded, caught the eyes of the other Soshis and whispered something. A few seconds later, the whole of Girls' Generation turned around, faced the section behind them and yelled, "C9! _Hana, dul, set!"_

 _"C9 Fighting!"_ The SONEs and Cloud 9 fans responded, incredibly just as if we were a Korean team.

The girls turned back towards the field and the stage, egging on the chant that was sweeping through the stadium again: _"Cloud 9! Cloud 9! Cloud 9!"_

Meanwhile, we were focusing on our individual objectives for the game. On top of keeping up our vision game as a team, Meteos had to make sure he got tanky enough to be able to handle and negate all the damage OMG could output, while Sneaky was going to be looking for kills even earlier and often because of Draven's Adoration. Meanwhile, Hai had to make sure he got going with Zed while Aurora had to make sure Sneaky stayed alive to protect his Adoration stacks. Lastly, I had to be careful to pick my spots and not be too aggressive since I was electing to start with a Rod of Ages, which would be great later but would take time to both build and fully stack. Thankfully, I got a chance to jump out ahead right when I hit Level 6 and took it.

 _ **Deman:**_ _Oh, Gogoing's going in, but he's a bit too close! Carlo counters and lands the Charm! He gets his own combo off, Spirit Rush comes out as well, and there it is – First Blood for Carlo!_

 _ **Jatt:**_ _What a clutch outplay by Carlo right there for the early advantage. He threw out the Charm even a little before Orb of Deception killed the last minion that would have blocked it and Gogoing didn't see it coming. On top of that, he had enough of a life lead and Gogoing had not yet hit his own Level 6._

 _ **Riv:**_ _Looking at Carlo on the player cam, we've just about always seen him focused, but I haven't seen the fire in his eyes that we're seeing now. I think that with everything that's been going on with Cloud 9 and Girls' Generation, he wanted the chance to play Ahri – and I do think it was Popstar Ahri specifically – on this stage, and so far, so good._

"Yes, Carlo!" Tiffany shouted. "Oh, my gosh, it's happening...isn't it?"

"If it keeps going this way, yes." Jessica said. "He looks intense! He also likes to shop quickly if he gets First Blood, so he'll be coming back in with quite a bit more than Gogoing has."

"Yeah, there it is – Blasting Wand and Sapphire Crystal for him while Gogoing is still just on two Doran's Rings." Sunny pointed out.

I was able to make the power count less than a minute after we both got back into lane.

"Oooh, chunked him but couldn't quite get him. He's recalling, though, and he burned his Flash." I said, after I'd worked on landing a combo on Gogoing and forced his Flash but saved the Spirit Rush.

"They're pushing bot but they're up too far. I managed to get a deeper ward that they haven't found yet – you want to help Sneaky get going?" Aurora asked.

"Absolutely." I replied as I started channeling my Teleport. "Coming in hot!"

 _ **Riv:**_ _Teleport comes in from Carlo...he Spirit Rushes in, lands the Charm onto San and pops him instantly! Cloud's the next target and Carlo leaves him for Sneaky to finish off for the cash-in!_

 _ **Deman:**_ _The vision game and global presence strategy we saw against SK Telecom in that clinching perfect game in the quarterfinals pays off again! They're going to go for the Dragon as well and should be able to take this with OMG's bot lane still down and Loveling not in the vicinity. There it goes – and immediately, all three of them recall with healthy amounts of Gold in their pockets...and those are some big buys. Sneaky gets a BF Sword and Pickaxe on the way to an Infinity Edge while Carlo finishes his Rod of Ages at just twelve minutes gone. That is going to put OMG on a timer as Cloud 9 push their lead to almost 2,500 Gold._

 _ **Jatt:**_ _It certainly will, especially since Gogoing has yet to finish his. Gogoing will have a bigger power spike later because Carlo is not starting Tear of the Goddess, but unless OMG does something about it, there's going to be a long time where he can't fight Carlo on even footing._

"Yo, bursty Ahri top, Pogchamp." Sneaky said with a big smile as we finished shopping and came back out of our base.

"No kidding." Aurora said. "That TP might have just won us the duo lane – no way we're letting them get back to even there after Sneaky got that much Gold off his passive. I was trying my darnedest to keep him alive and topped off, but that should be no problem now."

After about 15 minutes, I had the Distortion Lucidity Boots done and was finishing up an unconventional second major item in the Iceborn Gauntlet for the area-of-effect and slowing Spellblade for the pushing power, damage split and crowd control, to say nothing of the mana, armor (an extra boon against Jayce, Jinx and Rengar) and cooldown reduction.

"You getting your Frozen Fist, Carlo?" Hai asked.

"Yeah." I replied. "What do you say – time to go for the swap?"

"Yeah, let's do it and work on getting that outer mid tower down." Hai answered.

"Sounds great!" I said, and then said determinedly, "Okay, Cool, let's go..."

Two minutes after I went mid against Cool while Hai pushed top against Gogoing, I had taken off half of the target turret's health.

"Loveling's going towards mid – I think he's targeting you, Carlo." Aurora warned.

"I see him." I replied. "I'll save Spirit Rush for if and when he tries to jump in."

"Sounds good. You mind if I counter and join the party if he does?" Meteos asked.

"Oh, heck no." I replied with a big grin.

"Nice!" Hai said. "If Rengar goes in, kill him first unless Jayce goes low since he's lower level and even squishier."

"Got you. Thanks!" I responded.

 _ **Riv:**_ _Loveling wants to jump on Carlo, but he's ready for it, Spirit Rushing away and then Charming him! The counter-engage comes in from Meteos and he gets the kill onto his opponent in the jungle! Now it's on towards Cool and Meteos just tanks the turret as Carlo takes him down too with the help of the Let's Bounce! That puts him on a killing spree and they're going to get the turret too! That could have easily gone into OMG's favor, but some great reactions there mean it's that crucial outer mid turret going down in C9's favor._

 _ **Jatt:**_ _Good decision by Carlo to use his Spirit Rush instead of his Flash to dodge because he has all of that CDR, so he can use that often to be very slippery. Meteos does a good job of getting in position as he saw Loveling going towards mid – this was one instance where they didn't totally know what he was up to but were ready to react if he went in. Aurora even saved her Wish for that exchange and popped it so that they could make cross-map dives if they wanted, and that's going to be a 4,000 Gold lead and the anticipation continues to build here._

By the 20-minute mark, we had the inside track on the Dragon because while we'd given up a few kills – one death each for Hai, Aurora and Meteos – we hadn't given up any towers. That, combined with the fact that our vision was keeping up, allowed us to go for it with just Sneaky, Meteos and me while Aurora and Hai focused on holding our outer mid turret against the entirety of OMG. We'd also taken the southern Rift Scuttler, so we used that speed boost to quickly head back to mid once the Dragon was secured and get into a flanking position that OMG had not warded.

"Nice, nice!" Sneaky said as we arrived just off to the side. "Okay, I'm here and I'm queer. Let's spank these guys!"

"Let's take it. Go, go, go, go!" Hai shouted.

"I've got Jinx, I've got Jinx!" I was shouting.

"Nice! Jayce, Jayce, Jayce! Front line, front line!" Hai yelled.

"Holy f**k, Carlo, are you about to...?" Sneaky asked.

"Oh, my God!" I yelled.

"Aaaaah!" Aurora screamed.

For a moment, it seemed like the world went silent, and then it exploded. Meanwhille, Girls' Generation was also losing it.

"Oh, they got Jinx instantly!" Sooyoung yelled.

"This is going to be big!" Hyoyeon said, tensing visibly.

"Come on, take them all down! This is your chance!" Yuri called.

"It's going to happen! OMG can't hold!" Yoona said.

"Hey, Carlo's got a quadra kill!" Seohyun said, her eyes widening in anticipation.

"Oh, my gosh...Don't tell me..." Tiffany said, her mouth open.

"He's got it!" Taeyeon exclaimed just as the crowd erupted and the notification went up onscreen.

"Pentakill! Pentakill! Pentakill!" Sunny and Sooyoung were screaming in their best Korean caster impression.

Jessica, who had been holding her breath as the fight started, started screaming in joy like the others. "That's our team! That's your boy, Fany!"

She was holding onto Tiffany not just to hug her but because Tiffany was bouncing up and down, squealing and looking so happy that she could burst. She then put her hands to her mouth and yelled, " _Aaaah! Saranghaeyo!_ I love you, Carlo!"

It had also been chaotic on the Riot cast:

 _ **Deman:**_ _In goes Meteos with the Slingshot and Let's Bounce onto the front line as Carlo gets in and pops San! It's a 5-on-4 right away! Cool and Gogoing still in the front lines! Death Mark goes down onto Cool! Spirit Rush and Orb of Deception across the front line and Carlo's got a quadra kill!_

 _ **Jatt:**_ _Holy crap, he's going to get it!_

 _ **All:**_ _Ohhhh! Ohhhh!_

 _ **Deman:**_ _I do not believe it!_ _It's a pentakill for Carlo on top-lane Ahri that might have just won Cloud 9 the World Championship!_

 _ **Riv:**_ _They're not there yet, Deman, but they can see the finish line and this crowd is roaring them on towards it! They're going straight to Baron and they'll get it without a fight. Let's listen in on them as they take another massive step towards that championship!_

"Oh, my God, I can't believe it worked like that!" I said, stunned, with one hand on my forehead as we took down Baron Nashor without a contest and recalled.

"Holy s**t, that was a great play, Carlo! That's going to make every _League_ all-time highlight reel from here on out!" Meteos said.

"Hey, we're all writing our names in the history books if we win this!" I responded.

"Damn right!" Hai said. "I just have one thing to say..."

"What's that?" I asked.

Hai wore a knowing smile as he said, "Turn it up!"

"Oh, man!" I said with a big grin.

"Oh, yeah!" Aurora said, her smile even bigger. Even Meteos and Sneaky had knowing smiles because they knew what Hai was talking about.

"Just turn it up!" Hai reiterated.

"Get turnt!" Sneaky yelled.

"Turn it the f**k up!" Meteos shouted.

I started bouncing in my chair, moving and ad-libbing to the beat from _Genie_ , _"Bam...bam-ba-ba-bam...bam-ba-ba-bam...bam-ba-ba-bam..._ Aurora!"

Aurora smiled and sang as I kept the beat going,

 _Sowoneul malhaebwa  
Ni mamsoge inneun jageun kkumeul malhaebwa  
Nimeorie inneun isanghyeongeul geuryeo bwa  
Geurigo nareul bwa  
Nan neoye Genie-ya kkumiya Genie-ya_

 _ **English**_ _  
Tell me your wish  
Tell me that small dream you have within you  
Draw that ideal person you have inside your head  
And then look at me  
I'm your Genie, your dream, your Genie_

 _ **Deman:**_ _Wow, how about that? Not only was that amazing, but that was proof if we ever needed it that Cloud 9 knew what they were doing with that Ahri – that_ _Popstar_ _Ahri pick – in front of this audience. It's just been amazing to watch._

 _ **Riv:**_ _Well, the Korean title of_ _Genie_ _translates to "Tell Me Your Wish", and the wishes of so many might be coming true in a matter of minutes, both in this stadium and back home. 2-1 up in the best-of-5, 8,000 Gold up in Game 4, Baron buff on all five members...this looks like the moment North America has been waiting for!_

 _ **Jatt:**_ _Well, like you said, Riv, this isn't over yet, but I have to say it really does. Everyone on Cloud 9 also finished another item with that extra gold, so it will be even harder for OMG to stop this potentially championship-winning push. Bloodthirster comes out for Sneaky, Locket of the Iron Solari for Aurora, Warmog's Treads for Meteos, Will of the Ancients for Carlo and even a Guardian Angel for Hai. Right now, they're going with a 4-1 splitpush with Carlo off to the side – and keep in mind, he didn't have to use his Teleport to get into that last fight._

"No way!" Jessica shouted. She'd been checking the Riot broadcast and had heard the live Mic Check. "They're actually singing _Genie_ after that recall!"

"What?!" Tiffany asked, quickly borrowing Jessica's headphones so she could hear and see what had happened. Then she exclaimed, "Those beautiful people...they're going to drive me crazy!"

"Me too!" Taeyeon said, once she'd seen and heard it too. "That's amazing!"

"It really is!" Sunny agreed, before adding, "Also...when they're feeling it that much and having that much fun, they're very hard to beat. We know that feeling."

"We certainly do." Yoona said. "I think they've got this as long as they keep their nerves – oh, look out, Carlo's going in again!"

 _ **Deman:**_ _Oh, Carlo gets on towards San again! He dodges the Zap and the Chompers with the Spirit Rush, forces the Flash out and takes him down under the tower! He made that look too easy, really, as he goes legendary at 9/0/2!_

 _ **Riv:**_ _He should be able to get this turret as well with that Iceborn Gauntlet helping push it down – and yes, OMG decides to give it up and keep their surviving members mid. You can see Girls' Generation leading the cheers for Cloud 9 again...You get the feeling that as loud as it is right now, if they win another fight, we're going to have bedlam._

 _ **Jatt:**_ _I think you're right, Riv. On that subject, Cloud 9 did a good job of clearing out OMG's wards in the top half of OMG's own jungle, so if Carlo decides to come down, they won't have much warning if any._

 _ **Riv:**_ _You're exactly right, Jatt – they don't see him! Spirit Rush is back up and the Charm goes down on Jayce as the tower falls! Hai bursts him down with the Death Mark and there's not enough left for OMG! Meteos is keeping them locked up and Hai is just shredding them! It's a triple kill for Hai in the end and Sneaky even snipes Cloud with the Whirling Death after he Flashed away! That's Cloud 9's second clean ace in a row!_

 _ **Deman:**_ _And as you said, Riv, this crowd was primed to explode, and they absolutely have! And you feel they know they are watching the_ _League_ _equivalent of a No. 1 hit as Cloud 9 are looking to bring the curtain down on OMG as they break into the base with those kills!_

 _ **Jatt:**_ _Mid inhibitor turret is down and so is the mid inhibitor...they could have possibly gone straight for the Nexus, but San is almost back up, so they're gladly just rotating around to the other inhibitors and make sure they do critical damage to that OMG base. But we're not going to have to wait much longer until the party starts!_

"That's it, Hai!" Taeyeon was yelling as he scored his triple kill as part of that ace. Then she told Jessica, "Sica, make sure you hold me down too...I might lose it!"

"I'll handle that, _unnie!_ " Yoona said, nodding and smiling at her and Jessica, and she took Taeyeon's hand and added, "But I'm at that point, too – they're so close!"

We said later that as we made our inhibitor rounds, we felt infused, almost sanctified, with a special, pure kind of power: the power to make not just our dreams come true but also the dreams of those who wanted us to come through. We'd last felt it at All-Stars when we'd scored a huge win for North America, but this being Worlds and given who else we were playing for, it was on a whole other level.

"It's been unbelievable, fam. Thanks for everything...we're really going to do it!" Sneaky said, sounding as emotional as I'd ever heard him.

"Hey, thank you, Sneaky – and thank you guys too! Holy s**t, I might lose it, this is beautiful..." Meteos said, his hand off his mouse for a moment.

"We're really going to win it all! For the fans, for the girls..." Aurora said, sounding as if she was about to lose it.

"I'm just about over the edge too, but deep breath – the fat lady hasn't sung yet!" I said, calling upon my nightmare to make sure I kept my wits about me until the end.

"Hey, I feel it too, you guys. Just stay with me – stay together – for _one more fight_ and we got this!" Hai shouted and we could feel him calling on still more of his energy.

"We got you, don't worry!" I replied.

"Nice! Kill Jinx! Kill Jinx! Jayce, Jayce, Jayce!" Hai yelled.

"We've got 'em! That's game! That's f**king game!" Sneaky was screaming.

 _ **Riv:**_ _San's trying to kite, but Meteos gets on top of him and Hai takes him out! Carlo's in there too and Charms Cool! Cloud 9 is proving irresistible!_

 _ **Jatt:**_ _That's it! They've done it!_

 _ **Deman:**_ _Oh, my word!_

 _ **Riv:**_ _A third straight clean ace, and they_ _have_ _done it! In front of a raucous crowd and so many stars, it is Cloud 9 that outshines the competition...winning the 2014 World Championship! The Summoner's Cup is coming to North America!_

When the red OMG Nexus exploded, so did the crowd – and, from what I felt and gathered later, all sixteen of our hearts out of sheer joy. In the stands, Girls' Generation piled into a group hug.

"GG! GG!" Sunny and Sooyoung were yelling, still in their best OGN caster impression.

"Oh, my God, they did it!" Yuri said.

"Yes! Yes! Yes!" Yoona and Hyoyeon were screaming together.

"Oh, my goodness...look at them! That's our team!" Taeyeon exclaimed, pointing down at us. "That's our team down there! The best in the world!"

"And they saved the best for last." Seohyun said with relish, high-fiving the others.

"You know what else this means, right?" Hyoyeon asked, before answering her own question. "Sica _unnie_ , you're joining a World Champion!"

Jessica wiped away another tear, smiled and looked down at us onstage. "Thank you..." She whispered, before she told both us and the other Soshis, "I love you all!"

"Me too...I love you all!" Tiffany managed to say, wiping her eyes and giving Jessica a hug before she blew a kiss towards us onstage.

Down below, we had almost hurled off our headsets and jumped out of our seats as we had piled into our own group hug. It took all of fifteen seconds as well before Balls and LemonNation joined us.

"We did it!" Aurora was saying, already sobbing. "We actually did it!"

"Let's f**king go!" Balls said. "You guys were incredible!"

"World Champions!" Hai roared. "Let that sink in! World f**king champions!"

"I think we're all going to need some time...but God, it's already amazing! _Whoo!_ " I screamed.

" _Woo-hoo!_ " Sneaky cheered, and I saw even he was wiping a tear from his eye.

"Oh, my God, I might look like a wuss, but I can't..." Meteos said, and I saw him take his glasses off and wipe his eyes as he half-sobbed, "It just feels so good!"

"Hey, no shame in that. Feel me – I'm still shaking too!" LemonNation said, clapping him and the rest of us on the shoulders.

We went over and shook hands with Oh My God, and my heart went out to them for a minute as I remembered my nightmare was at least part of their reality. Once we got back around and saw Team SoloMid and Counter Logic Gaming, who had rushed our side of the stage and were motioning to let them hoist them onto their shoulders, our spirits soared even more. Dyrus and Reginald hoisting Hai onto their shoulders and handing him an American flag while HotShotGG and TheOddOne did the same for Aurora while WildTurtle handed her a Canadian flag were two of the sights I loved seeing the most as I draped another American flag around my shoulders while Doublelift and Bjergsen hoisted me up.

Talking to the others later, we all were wondering at that moment if this was what the view from the top of the world looked like and agreed that that was one of the moments that made all the work we'd put in worth it.

"Started from the bottom, now we here!" Aphromoo was telling Sneaky, who was on his and Xpecial's shoulders.

"FeelsAwesomeMan." Sneaky replied. "I'm glad we could do it for you guys. NA, baby!"

After a few minutes, Riot coordinators came and explained that we would go off down the players' tunnel to allow for post-match analysis and some OMG interviews in addition to Imagine Dragons setting up and performing. When we came back out afterwards, it would to receive the Summoner's Cup.

"We'll see you later!" Hai said in the direction of the Summoner's Cup, pointing at it. It seemingly twinkled happily in the light in reply.

We all smiled at that and went off down the pathway and down the tunnel, with the TSM and CLG rosters flanking us as a guard of honor before they stopped on the pathway and returned to their seats. We then turned a corner past the tunnel, and it was there that our eyes fell upon an incredibly lovely sight.


	6. Finale: Kissing You

_**Author's Notes**_  
 _Whoa, a lot sure happened since I last finished a chapter. I definitely was not pleased with how the quarterfinal went, but only because C9 didn't win – I knew as everyone did that Samsung was no picnic and they won fair and square. Also watched the other two quarterfinals so far, but tonight's between H2K and Albus Nox Luna looked like it could be even more entertaining (as I type this, it's H2K 2-0 up.) Meanwhile, I kept thinking I had this one nailed down, but this chapter kept growing and growing and became one of those chapters where I didn't think it'd be as big as it turned out (I certainly didn't predict almost 10,000 words for this chapter!) I also took a stab at making the cover – hope you guys like it! Usual rules apply: Reviews always welcome, but no flaming jsut because you're not a Cloud 9 or North American fan. I've got one more chapter to write before I consider this complete, and it'll involve the aftermath._

* * *

We'd seen Girls' Generation wear plenty of attractive things, but we never anticipated what we saw them wearing there. They'd shed the jackets they'd worn in the stands and we could see that they were wearing white and blue C9-themed dresses and skirt/top combos, complete with our sponsors and the GG Crown logo.

 _"You did it!"_ They all shouted joyfully as they saw us.

Jubilant chaos ensued as too many hugs were exchanged to count. Everyone was excitedly talking to one another so much that it was hard to hear myself talk and I couldn't make out everything that was said. Gradually, though, I started to hear and see better what was going on.

"Holy crap, you all look even more amazing than usual!" Aurora exclaimed.

"Thank you so much!" Yoona replied. "We all figured that if we're going to be essentially a superteam or super-group, however you want to call it, then we'd better dress like it."

"Hey, you all look damn sexy in C9 swag." Sneaky said.

"You know you guys have a big hand in that, right? It's because you came through the way you did that we can shine that much." Hyoyeon responded.

Meanwhile, Sooyoung was telling Meteos, "Great Baron steal! Remind me – the next time you and I eat Mexican food together, whether it's Chipotle or somewhere else, it's on me."

"Oh, you're too kind, Sooyoung. I hadn't had that many Smite steals during Worlds, so it was about time I pulled another one off at Baron." Meteos said, smiling a bit bashfully.

"Hey, don't blame yourself – it's just that we haven't given you too many situations where they other team has gone for it and you've had to save the day." Lemon said, clapping him on the back.

"I know – just feels like I'm pulling my weight a lot more when I can do something like that, you know what I'm saying?" Meteos asked. Lemon nodded.

Meanwhile, Hai had found Taeyeon and they were sharing a big hug.

"We made it, Taengoo _noona_!" Hai cheered.

"You should have seen her, Hai." Jessica said. "She said after she saw your backdoor in Game 2, 'Hai, you magnificent man. Okay, everyone to the World Cup Stadium as soon as they're able. Our other seven members need us there!'"

"Really?" Hai asked, pleasantly surprised.

"Really. I also told Sica that they were going to have to literally kill you to stop you from fighting tonight after Game 1." Taeyeon said proudly.

"You're not wrong about that." Hai said with a smile. "Keep in mind I did have another reason to fight, after all."

Taeyeon blushed and smiled bashfully in response, and she closed her eyes and started to lean closer to him. Hai recognized what was going on and did the same, and time seemed to slow down as they leaned closer to each other and then gently kissed.

Seohyun was the first to see them and got our attention, saying excitedly, "Oh! Look! Hai and Tae _unnie_!"

We looked at them, gasped and smiled. None of us knew about what had happened at the snack bar between the two of them – we only found out later – so it was a big but pleasant shock to see them holding hands ad chest level and looking as if their faces were gently melting together while attached at the lips.

"Holy crap, Hai!" Balls said, beaming.

Yoona was holding onto Yuri, who had her hands over her mouth. Both had stunned but sincere smiles, and I could see Yoona mouth, _"Omona..."_

I then saw Tiffany clasping her hands and smiling at them. Then she turned towards me, and before I could say anything, she quickly but silently grabbed my wrist and beckoned me to follow her around a corner.

* * *

"What is it, Tiffany?" I asked, once we'd stopped.

She looked at me with a look I hadn't yet seen – one that had admiration, affection and guilt all rolled into it. She later told me it was because she was proud of me but also still felt bad at how she'd acted at the lounge even though I'd told her not to accept or reject me right there.

"I owe you an answer to your confession." She said.

"Yes?" I asked, suddenly finding myself holding my breath as I had during the final pick/ban phase.

A smile grew on her face and she motioned for me to come closer. I leaned closer and initially turned my head thinking she wanted to whisper to me...until I saw her lips and realized she _didn't_ want to whisper.

 _No way_ , I thought frantically.

Even then, though, I saw her close her eyes as she leaned forward, and I did the same but stopped short, inviting her to go the rest of the way. She closed the distance, and I felt her lips gently but firmly press against mine. I felt a jolt that gave way to a happiness I had never known or imagined as I felt something else pour into my heart...something wonderful that I knew was Tiffany's.

She reached behind my neck to pull me closer, and I responded by hugging her close. Just as Taeyeon and Hai looked as if they were gently melting into each other while they were kissing just minutes beforehand, I felt like Tiffany's kiss was softly melting me – only except I was being made into someone even better and even more whole than before at the same time. _Surely they felt that too, because I understand that's what love can do_ , I thought.

After a minute, she pulled away but kept hold of me, an affectionate light dancing in her eyes as she said,

"I love you too, Carlo. I just wasn't sure if you loved me in return...Would you like to go out with me?"

"I would love to! Thank you so much...man, I feel a little silly, though, because here I was worrying you didn't feel the same way!" I answered, elated and laughing at myself, before I finished sincerely, "I'm new to this and I may not have much as you, but I'll do all I can to make you proud to have me as a boyfriend."

"Aw, you're too kind! But I have a better idea...let's take care of each other. Let's not forget I've got to treat you too, since you're a sweet boy who I've liked for a while and who just won a World Championship." She said, giving the famous eye smile. Knowing that that specific one was meant for me alone gave me chills.

"I would love that." I said wholeheartedly.

She laughed, but then said with a cautionary tone, "I'm fairly certain you know we have to follow _that_ rule – we can't let the public know we're dating each other yet. I don't think they're ready."

"I know. I could handle it if it got out, but I hate to think what people would think of and say to you if they found out." I answered, nodding.

"Thank you." She replied, before adding, "But I would love to tell the others. Shall we rejoin them?"

"Sure, let's tell 'em!" I said, blushing but smiing sincerely and nodding as I took her hand and followed her back.

* * *

When we came back over, we found that Jack had also arrived and that everyone was smiling at us – some expectantly and some knowingly.

"Did you tell him, Fany?" Taeyeon asked with a smile.

"I did!" Tiffany answered brightly, freeing her right arm and use it to hug me closer.

"Oh, s**t!" Sneaky whooped, applauding along with the others.

"Yay!" Seohyun cheered, giving us a congratulatory hug.

"Congratulations, you guys!" Jack told us, before adding pointedly and good-naturedly, "I trust this won't be too much of a distraction?"

"Don't worry, Jack, I think Taengoo _noona_ and Fany _noona_ would give us even more to worry about than you if we started slacking off." Hai said.

"Oh, you know it!" Taeyeon said avidly, nodding and poking him in the side with her elbow.

Jack smiled and laughed. "Okay, now that you're back," He said, turning back to the team at large, "Guys, I want you to meet your new consulting manager. We'll essentially be splitting time with you guys since she's got her own things going on too, but she's worked with you before and loves it – and I know you like her a lot too."

"Who's that?" Aurora asked. She and every C9 player looked around, and we might as well have all had question marks written all over our faces.

"That would be me." Jessica replied.

All seven of our jaws dropped.

"Are you serious?" Hai asked. "Jack, Jessica _noona_ , you had better not be kidding me – _us_ – about this. Is C9 Jessica really going to be an official thing?"

"Well, let's not forget, Hai – the girls consider the seven of you to be part of them and vice versa." Jack said. "But no, I'm not kidding."

"I gave it some thought and talked to him before the semifinal when I realized how much I'd enjoyed being around the team for that week leading up to the quarterfinals." Jessica revealed. "I asked if there was a role I could share, seeing as I won't be there all the time because of my other activities, and ironically, he offered me his as manager."

"I explained to her that that'll allow me to be more of a pure owner and give some more of my energy and time to our other teams and players. Then if she's got a fashion show, concert or such, then I'll be the one managing." Jack explained.

Aurora was the first of us seven to reach Jessica and hugged her as the rest of us all clapped Jessica on the back and gave her high fives.

"Holy crap...welcome aboard officially, Jessica _noona_!" Hai said, quickly hugging her around the neck and giving her a high-five.

"Sica _unnie_ , I can't believe you'll be working with us again regularly!" Aurora told her.

"Oh, Aurora..." Jessica said warmly, returning the hug. "I'm glad I'll be there again too! Let's make sure we focus this energy and keep working hard, okay? We've got another World Championship to chase now and we need to be ready to support and lend our energy to the girls – I know there'll be times where we'll need their help too, and that's to say nothing of when we all meet up again."

"Let's do it, Jessica _noona_." Meteos told her.

"I know how amazing she was in that week going into the quarterfinals." Jack said, smiling at how we'd flocked around her like kids who'd been told that a substitute teacher they'd grown to love would be teaching them regularly. "I kept trying to give her some compensation on behalf of the team, but she politely refused every time. I then told her, 'If you want to do it again, at least let me hire you so you get recognized properly for it!' I was laughing as I said it, but I meant every word."

"And we're glad you did, Jack." Sunny said.

"We know she's still one of us because we'll continue to work together and that's great, but please remember what else that means...that's our sister." Sooyoung told us. "If we hear about anything funny, we'll fly over just to beat you up!"

"We know and we understand, Sooyoung." Meteos said reassuringly.

"Oh, I wasn't talking to you, Meteos – I know you've worked well with her in the past." Sooyoung responded kindly, and she added, "I'm just kidding – I know you'll all continue to work with her nicely."

"All right, we really could talk all night and we'll happily do so later, but we do have the performance to worry about, so I've got to pause it right here." Taeyeon said, though she was stil smiling.

We all made sure we got quiet and nodded at her, indicating she had our attention.

"We talked to Imagine Dragons and thankfully, they're allowing us to do that finale performance when you lift the Summoner's Cup." Taeyeon explained to the seven of us, filling us in on what had happened while we had been contesting the final. "They're even giving us a hand via their guitarist."

"Really?" Sneaky asked. "That's great – Wayne Sermons is a good guy and he can play."

"We definitely found out for ourselves." Taeyeon replied with a smile, before she added, "That's not all. We want you to be involved."

All of our mouths fell open as we digested that – Girls' Generation was choosing to have their last performance with their original roster when we would be presented with the Summoner's Cup. They were getting help from Imagine Dragons' guitarist – and they wanted us involved too.

"Now, don't be scared. It's just what you worked on with us individually. Maybe just one little tweak or two after what just happened, if you know what I mean." Taeyeon said.

Sneaky, Meteos and Lemon all looked puzzled until they saw Aurora, Balls, Hai and me suddenly nod in comprehension and start whispering animatedly to at least one Soshi apiece – Hai with Taeyeon, Balls with Sunny, me with Tiffany and Aurora with Jessica and Hyoyeon. All four cases had something in common - they'd been working on dances with us while hanging out in order to keep both themselves and us loose.

"I like how this looks!" Seohyun said, looking around at us nodding at each other as we finished briefly discussing our parts. "Let's get refreshed first, though, because an awful lot of us were crying, so even more of us will need touching up."

We all agreed and headed to the room that the Soshis had used to get ready to get any touch-ups that any of us needed done. While we were there, we also received more jerseys to change into. These were identical to the ones we were already wearing, but they had the GG Crown Girls' Generation emblem across from the C9 emblem in a smiliar way to the Soshi outfits, only these emblems were white, and had our names on the back in Times New Roman to match the Soshi member names on the front of their outfits below the GG Crown.

"In what crazy world do I get my makeup done in the next chair over from Sica _unnie_ before we both go onstage?" Aurora asked. She was getting her makeup updated, as she said, from pro gamer mode to popstar mode, and was having a lot of fun with it.

"A world in which you're a world champion...and our friend." Jessica said happily.

Aurora reached over and gave her hand an affectionate squeeze as she was unable to move her face for the moment since they were still updating her makeup.

After some quick practice, where we entertained each other with what we'd been working on by ourselves and also worked in a new idea that Taeyeon had, we saw that Imagine Dragons was finishing up a great performance of _Warriors_. Jessica and Tiffany would be the first two out soon and then would bring us out for the performance and for the trophy presentation before MC-ing our winner's interview.

"Ay yo, GG!" Hai whooped in his version of the intro from _I Got A Boy_ , making the Soshis smile as he hold Tiffany and Jessica, "Go get 'em."

* * *

"Wow, wasn't that something?" Sjokz was saying onstage. "One more round of applause for Imagine Dragons!"

The crowd cheered promptly, and she then smiled and added, "We do have one more performance for you guys and some of you may have heard about it. You may have seen them watching again tonight, and they've brought the whole group, but let's bring these two out first. Ladies and gentlemen, one more time, it's Girls' Generation's JeTi – Jessica and Tiffany!"

The crowd rose to its feet and roared again as they came out of the tunnel to _Talk To Me_ and then cheered louder as they realized they were wearing what amounted to very pretty SNSD takes on the C9 uniform with the blue and white tops and skirts (blue skirt, white top for Tiffany, white skirt and blue top for Jessica) and blue heels, but with their pink Girls' Generation "GG Crown" emblem along with the C9 emblem and our sponsor labels. They also had those pop-style headsets that had an earpiece and microphone, but it was hard for people to tell they were wearing anything of the sort unless the camera was close in. (Backstage, the other fourteen of us had also been fitted with the same headset.)

As they ascended the stage, smiling and waving to the crowd, they saw that the pedestal holding the Summoner's Cup had been moved on top of a raised platform behind the center of the stage, and the C9 team banner and NA LCS banner were on either side of that platform. It was at this point that the SONEs in the crowd, sensing that the final performance with their original roster intact was imminent, began chanting Jessica's name. WE could see on the broadcast as we waited that some of them were already in tears.

Jessica was visibly touched and said "Thank you" multiple times as Tiffany gave her a supportive hug, but they kept going. Finally, they both said _"Jigemun, C9 Shi Dae!_ Right Now, It's Cloud 9 Generation!"

With one more roar from the crowd, Jessica, now genuinely excited, turned to ask Tiffany, "Let's get to it right away, Fany – can you believe what we saw in that final?"

"Yes and no, Sica." Tiffany said, her eyes sparkling. "I can believe it because it's Cloud 9, but I can't believe the amazing ways they won tonight. I know not all of us saw a backdoor coming or a Baron steal, and I know nobody was expecting a top-lane Ahri with the skin that we inspired getting a penta in the deciding game! I know all of us were going nuts backstage and then in the stands during Game 4."

"You're right – I know even I couldn't contain the hype!" Jessica said, her eyes also lighting up.

"I do know one thing...You got some news just a few hours that makes this win sweeter for you especially. Would you like to tell the people about it?" Tiffany asked, her smile growing.

Jessica nodded, turned back to the crowd and said, "If you remember, when I told everyone I was stepping down, I did say I was going to continue with fashion and music afterwards on my own and that's still true, but I didn't say if I was joining anyone or adding anything else to that."

"Well, you hadn't lined it up by then, so you weren't hiding anything." Tiffany said. "You wanna tell them what's happened since, though?"

"Well, I had a conversation before we came here today with C9's owner, Mr. Jack Etienne, about a gig..." Jessica responded.

"Yes?" Tiffany asked, laying a hand on her shoulder supportively and encouraging her to continue.

Jessica smiled at her, turned back to the crowd and revealed, "I'm joining Cloud 9 as a consulting manager!"

The crowd gasped, but then applauded and then cheered, turning it into a standing ovation. They didn't yet know everything because we'd done a good job of keeping things under wraps when we'd wanted to, but they knew from the announcement of her decision how deeply she felt about us and knew that we had done something great for her in those difficult weeks even if they didn't know what.

Jessica was visibly moved but held her tears, and said, "Thank you all for your support...I need to tell you something more. When I decided to step down, they were one of the first groups of people I told because we'd befriended them at KCON and continued to stay in contact as they arrived for their boot camp ahead of Worlds. And I had barely given them the news when they asked if we could avoid scheduling our last performance with me until after the final if they beat SKT in their quarterfinal. It meant so much to us that they wanted to dedicate their performance, which is now a World Championship-winning performance, not just to their families, their loved ones and their fans, especially in North America, where they've waited and dreamed of this night for a long time, but to us too. And now, we want to dedicate the performance you'll see soon not just to you, our amazing fans who have cheered for us all the way, but to them."

She was smiling again by the end, and the crowd cheered its approval. Tiffany asked them, "Shall we bring them back out?"

They cheered one more time to indicate the answer as a big yes, and Jessica said, "All right! Given what just happened, Tiffany, you should be the one to get us going."

Tiffany smiled and replied, "My pleasure!" Then she turned back towards the crowd and proclaimed, "DJ, put it back on!"

The crowd burst into a renewed roar as they knew what that meant – and at the same time, the introduction to _Genie_ started playing and Jessica announced, "Ladies and gentlemen, your _League of Legends_ Season 4 World Champions: Cloud 9!"

As they joined in the applause, the pathway to the stage from the players' tunnel was illuminated, and the crowd grew even louder in anticipation. As the opening stanza started – the same part Aurora had sung earlier during our Mic Check – the fans got louder still when the screens showed us in the tunnel in two columns, chatting and encouraging each other before we went out. Each of the Girls' Generation members took the arms of one of the guys except for Hyoyeon, who was holding Aurora's hand.

 _[Taeyeon] Soweoneul malhaebwa  
Ni mamsoge inneun jageun kkumeul malhaebwa  
[Jessica] Nimeorie inneun isanghyeongeul geuryeo bwa  
Geurigo nareul bwa  
Nan neoye Genie-ya kkumiya Genie-ya_

 ** _English_**  
 _[Taeyeon] Tell me your wish  
Tell me that small dream you have within you  
[Jessica] Draw that ideal person you have inside your head  
And then look at me  
I'm your Genie, your dream, your Genie_

We then emerged from the tunnel, and the crowd went even louder still. Taeyeon and Hai led us out, followed by (in order) Hyoyeon and Aurora, Yoona and Sneaky, Sooyoung and Meteos, Seohyun and me, Sunny and Balls and finally Yuri and LemonNation.

As we joined Tiffany and Jessica onstage, waving to the fans along the way, we were awestruck at how the atmosphere had morphed. It was if the atmosphere of a Girls' Generation concert had melded with that of the Worlds Grand Final to create something incredibly invigorating. It was like electricity was meeting pixie dust, supercharging the air around us. A big part of that was the fact that it was just the sixteen of us either on or approaching the stage with the Summoner's Cup just before we raised it, with all of us wearing blue and white and both groups' emblems – and the fact that they kept playing one of the perfect songs for the moment in Genie.

 _[Yoona/Seohyun] Deurimkareul tago dallyeo bwa  
Neon nae yeopjarie anja  
Geujeo nae ikkeullim soge modu deonjeo  
[Yuri] Gaseum beokcha teojeo beoryeodo  
Baramkkyeore nallyeo beoryeodo  
Jigeum i sungan sesangeun neoye geot_

 _[All] Geuraeyo nan neol saranghae eonjena mideo  
Kkumdo yeoljjeongdo da jugo shipeo  
[Yoona] Nan geudae soweoneul irweo jugo shipeun (Shipeun)  
Haengune yeoshin_

 _[All] Soweoneul malhaebwa  
[Jessica] I'm Genie for you, boy (Come on)  
[All] Soweoneul malhaebwa  
[Sooyoung] I'm Genie for your wish  
[All] Soweoneul malhaebwa  
[Jessica] I'm Genie for your dream  
[All] Naegeman malhaebwa  
[Sooyoung] I'm Genie for your world_

 ** _English_**  
 _[Yoona/Seohyun] Get in your dream car and speed off  
You're sitting next to me  
Just throw everything into my guidance  
[Yuri] Even if your overwhelmed heart was to explode  
Even if it all flies away in the wind  
Right now, this moment, the world is yours_

 _[All] Yes, I love you, you can always believe in me  
Dreams, passions, I want to give them all to you  
[Yoona] I'm a goddess of fortune  
That wants to make your wishes come true_

 _[All] Tell me your wish  
[Jessica] I'm Genie for you, boy (Come on)  
[All] Tell me your wish  
[Sooyoung] I'm Genie for your wish  
[All] Tell me your wish  
[Jessica] I'm Genie for your dream  
[All] Tell it only to me  
[Sooyoung] I'm Genie for your world_

As we lined up in a slight arc in front of the raised platform holding the trophy and the music faded out, we heard fans who were screaming both for Girls' Generation and for Cloud 9. We were all arm in arm save for Tiffany and Jessica, who were in the center.

"I know there's a lot of questions to be asked, and believe me, we have a lot too." Jessica said with a big smile. "Let's start with this one, and it's one we've been asked before, but it honestly begs being asked again after tonight. Did you envision this happening just over two months ago when we both went to KCON and ended up meeting? Balls, I'll go to you for this one."

"Absolutely not." Balls replied as the crowd cheered him as well. "But we're thrilled that it turned out the way that it did and also that we got support for everyone on the team, not just the starters who did so much work. Let the record show that Sunny and Yuri helped me and Lemon make sure we stayed on point, especially before the second Fnatic game."

"Mmmmm..." Sunny said in a bit of her _aegyo_ tone, making Balls blush but smile next to her and the crowd _ooh_ and _aah_. Then she said in her normal voice, "We were glad to! We wanted to make sure no one got left out because we knew everyone was going to have to play their part."

"And not only that, but everyone _did_ play their part and earned it." Yuri added, squeezing LemonNation's shoulder, and they smiled at each other.

"No question about it! On that note, let's go to Lemon next." Jessica said. "We definitely felt a little weird when you had to go against Cool's Dynasty Ahri in Game 3 and were jumping out of our seats in Game 4, first when you picked her and then when we realized it was Popstar Ahri. And if we know anything, you're the literal man with the plan and you seldom do things like that just on the spur of the moment. What kind of planning went into that?"

Lemon grinned a little sheepishly but replied clearly, "We started working on comps with Ahri and Syndra before the quarterfinals since we wanted to do something as a tribute and also knew we could make it work, and we quickly code-named our Ahri drafts Operation Genie for clear reasons. We also knew we wouldn't have a better opportunity than tonight – on top of all the obvious reasons with the Worlds final and Jessica's farewell, Cool is a great Ahri player, so it also gave us a chance to answer one of his best picks. When we got back together backstage after Game 3, when he'd picked her, I could tell we were all itching to have Ahri in our team comp with a chance to clinch if we got the chance."

"Fantastic!" Tiffany said. She then turned to Sneaky and continued, "Sneaky, you were talking backstage about how you also got satisfaction from shutting up the doubters, the antis and so on. You said there was something you wanted to tell them. Go ahead, I'll give you the floor – I'll let you say your piece, because you've more than earned it."

"Yeah, all the people who said that we couldn't do it, that North America couldn't do it, that Jessica and then you were making the biggest mistakes you could by getting behind us, that Girls' Generation's time had passed...heck, even Heechul when he made the bet with Jessica ahead of the quarterfinal. I know he wasn't trashing us, but that was when I realized how much I'd become all in on winning for you guys too – nobody tries to do that to one of us or someone we care about and gets away with it. All I've got to say at the end is, 'The dreams are no longer memes.'" Sneaky said with a big grin. Yoona then handed him a pair of clip-on shades, which he put on and said, "Deal with it."

"Tell 'em, Dad!" Yoona said, shaking his shoulder in approval as the crowd cheered.

"Thanks a lot, Sneaky! Meteos, you looked as if you wanted to add something to that." Jessica said, turning to him.

"Yeah – anyone who's followed us knows that not all of us were listening to your music when we met at KCON, but you girls absolutely won yourselves some new fans among the rest of us over the last two months." Meteos said. "All of us were glad to give it all we had and win for you tonight as well as for our fans here, back home and elsewhere and to see how happy our fans put together tonight are to see this is incredible."

"Thanks a lot, Meteos!" Sooyoung said, leading the others in cheering him.

"Yeah, thanks a lot for that!" Jessica said. Then she turned to me and said, "Let's go to a big reason why that came to be in that final game – Carlo. As much as you like to dream big and as much as you played out that game in your head, did you ever think that you'd do what you just did with a chance to seal a World Championship – a pentakill on top-lane Ahri en route to a 10/0/8?"

"Only in my wildest dreams, Sica _unnie_." I replied. "And I don't think my wildest dreams included overcoming everything that our teams have together starting at KCON, and tonight's been the toughest challenge of all, not least because Oh My God is a great team and a more than worthy opponent. I'm glad I could save my best game for last, but I don't want people analyzing or reflecting on this and saying I won it by myself, because we all took turns carrying each other at different points in the tournament, sometimes changing within games. Not only that, but we all – and I'm not just talking about C9, but both of our groups – all took turns sharing energy, and that's a big reason I'm so honored to have been part of this. At the end of the day, this was a team effort – and I'm willing to say it was by sixteen, not just seven."

Seohyun gave my shoulder a quick grateful squeeze and beamed at me, and I noticed the others nodding and smiling as well as the crowd applauded and cheered again.

"Oh, you're too kind!" Tiffany said. Then she turned to Aurora and asked, "Aurora, it doesn't seem like too long ago even though it's been over two months that we met you and you were wide-eyed at getting to play at and attend KCON and meet us. You told us since then that you were hoping that you could repay us somehow for what we've given you, and I certainly think you've done that and then some. Can you put into words how you're feeling?"

"Thanks a lot, Fany _unnie_...Anyone who knows me knows I have two huge dreams – win Worlds and be invited by Girls' Generation to be onstage with them, and words can't express happy I am to have both of those dreams come true on the same night." Aurora replied, ecstasy etched on her face. "Beginning with the quarterfinal where we committed ourselves, I kept telling myself, 'Maybe we get to Worlds again and go as far as we have...but we're only going to get one chance to win it at a moment where it means so much to so many people who I care about a lot.' And I know I was far from the only person on the team who was thinking that way. To know that we did it...it's amazing."

The other Soshis smiled appreciatively at her as Tiffany then turned to Hai. "And finally, the leader, Hai. I need to let the people know...When Jessica went to Fraser Place, you were the one who suggested that we hold off the farewell performance until after the finals if you prevailed against SKT and you were the first to voice the idea of winning Worlds while our original roster was still intact. We've seen just how the team has responded to that, and I think it's only fitting that when the MVP of Worlds was announced before we came onstage, it was you. Congratulations on the honor – can you share your thoughts as well?"

"Wow, really? Thanks a lot to the people who decided on that – that's a big honor!" Hai said to more cheers, before he added,

"It's always been my belief that talent and mechanics do matter, but at the end of the day, it's strategy and teamwork that wins. I've had to add something to that...how well a team can respond to adversity when it hits a team member or someone close. And in two straight major international tournaments, that's happened and we've found something within ourselves. We first did when the guys and Aurora had to go to All-Stars without me and Lemon and won. Then when Jessica told us that she was going to step down – and this is something I talked about with Taeyeon recently – I looked around at them and I could tell we all wanted to do something about it. If I had any doubts about asking her if you could avoid scheduling that final performance until after the final if we beat SKT, they disappeared when I saw that. Then I found out that all seven of us wanted to win it for you girls too, and I knew it was coming out again. I remember I went to bed that night thinking it was the same situation from All-Stars, but with a few changes since it was Worlds. The stakes were higher and the opposition was tougher, but our team was stronger and that added motivation was even stronger."

"When he said that, you should have seen the look on my face." Taeyeon said next to him. "I told him it was such a Soshi thing to do. We've always talked about how we're one as a group and how we have one heart, sharing each other's joy and pain...I know he doesn't want to take too much credit because they were able to call on that courage without him in Paris, but I can tell that it meant so much that he was the one who suggested that he was the one to ask if we could save the last performance with Jessica until after the finals if they overcame SKT. The fact that he has that kind of 'I got you, fam' spirit as he likes to say coupled with his brain and the fact that he constantly tells himself that any challenge they face is not unbeatable...I personally think Cloud 9 couldn't have asked for a better person to have as their leader."

She and Hai smiled warmly at each other as the crowd cheered its approval again. Jessica smiled and said, "I don't think any of us onstage would argue with that, Tae." She then proclaimed, "As much as we'd like to present this trophy ourselves, we're not suited for it nearly as well as the two men about to come to the stage. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the CEOs and co-founders of Riot Games, Mr. Marc 'Tryndamere' Merrill and Mr. Brandon 'Ryze' Beck!"

The two of them ascended the stage to applause, wearing pants, belts and black Worlds T-shirts.

"Thank you very much, Jessica!" Ryze said, before turning to the crowd and saying, "First of all, we want to thank all the people who helped us out – from the Rioters around the world who helped us put this together to our partners including OGN, Garena and Korean Air...and last but absolutely not least, you the fans, because you helped make this the most exciting _League_ tournament we've ever seen."

The crowd cheered appreciatively here, and Tryndamere allowed them to quiet down before he said, "This is our third year where we've awarded this trophy to the winner of Worlds, and every time, it's gone to a worthy champion, but we can't hide how happy we are that this year, it's a North American team."

"Cloud 9, It's been unbelievable watching you guys throughout this tournament. We and the other Rioters who have been watching are thrilled to have Girls' Generation involved in the way that they have been as well...I don't know what you guys and girls have as a whole, but I'd call it magic." Ryze added, turning to us.

We laughed, smiled and thanked him as Tryndamere said, "We're hoping you can bring the Cup by the office once we're all back in LA."

"Hey, we're bringing it by within the first week of us being back home, so keep your eyes out." Hai answered.

"We sure will!" Ryze said, returning Hai's grin. "Also, we haven't touched on it enough, but there is another thing you've won tonight: A cool million dollars in first-place prize money!"

We whooped and applauded as the Soshis gave us quick added congratulatory hugs. One effect of us having regularly won the champions' share of the prize pool since the summertime and focusing on wanting to win for the prestige, for our region, for the fans and for the gals was that we hadn't thought much about the million-dollar first prize. We knew some of it would go to the team itself to help with operating expenses and helping the team get stronger – and rightfully so – but we knew that meant a lot for us too and loved it. I personally knew I'd invest quite a bit of my share so I could make that money continue to work for me, but I'd definitely also use some of it to travel as well during the offseason. _Hopefully something with Tiffany_ , I added, smiling inwardly as well.

"All right, let's get you up here because the Cup's calling your name and is going to have your names on it soon." Tryndamere said. "We've also got that performance by Girls' Generation – and I understand you've got some help on this?"

"We do." Taeyeon answered. "Please welcome back to the stage Mr. Daniel Wayne Parsons of Imagine Dragons!"

"Whoa!" Tryndamere said, as the guitarist retook the stage to more cheers, as they had enjoyed _Warriors_. "What song is he going to be helping you with?"

"We won't say what it is just yet, but we can say it has to do with something you do when you win an E-Sports trophy in Korea." Jessica answered.

Some in the crowd whooped, and I took them to be the ones who knew what was coming. Ryze said, "I know we're excited to find out. All right, let's get the captain to the front."

We had climbed onto the platform, and Hai came forward so that the Summoner's Cup was between him and Tryndamere and Ryze. Tryndamere then proclaimed, "On behalf of Riot Games and the _League of Legends_ community, It is our pleasure to present the Summoner's Cup to you, our Season 4 World Champions: Cloud 9!"

The crowd roared, knowing this was the moment, as Ryze and Tryndamere handed the Summoner's Cup to Hai and he hoisted it high over his head with a joyful shout with help from Balls and Lemon (the Cup weighs about 70 pounds). Another wave of elation washed over us, and I knew what it was – the beautiful finality of knowing we really had won because the Summoner's Cup was ours.

"Yeah, baby! We did it!" Hai was yelling. He then lowered it slightly and kissed it.

"Yass!" Sneaky yelled. "God, this thing looks even more gorgeous up close!"

"We've got the Cup! We've got the Cup!" Aurora was chanting.

Wayne started a cool guitar intro not long after Hai had lifted the trophy, and as the Soshis applauded and cheered us, a Rioter handed each of them a lollipop. Not only was it awesome to see their faces and hear their voices as we finally hoisted the trophy, but it also gave a big clue as to what they were about to do, and both we and the crowd were even more excited – the crowd because they realized what song was coming and everyone because of what that entailed. The seven of us also got confirmation over our headsets that our mics were turned off for the moment so we could cheer without being a distraction during the performance.

Then the guitar intro played right into the opening of _Kissing You_ , and when that song started playing full force and the performance started, I could have sworn I saw the roof start to lift off of the World Cup Stadium.

"Oh, my God, here we go!" Aurora was almost shrieking, beside herself. Hai and Lemon passed the trophy to her, and they helped her hold it up as she hoisted it and then kissed it too. Her eyes then went straight back to Girls' Generation as the opening dance had already started.

Even though we'd watched them perform live at KCON and even though Aurora, Balls and I had seen our fare share of live clips, none of us was ready for the volume and energy of a full crowd of SONEs who knew the fanchants by heart and were in full voice: _(Author's note:_ _This style_ _denotes fanchants)_

 _Jigemun, So Nyuh Shi Dae!_  
 _Apeurodo, So Nyuh Shi Dae!_  
 _Yeongwonhi So Nyuh Shi Dae!_  
 _So Nyuh Shi Dae, saranghae!_

 _ **English**_ _  
_ _Right Now, It's Girls' Generation!  
Forward, Girls' Generation!  
Forever Girls' Generation!  
We love you, Girls' Generation!_

"This is going to be insane!" Hai said, a huge smile stuck on his face as he helped hand the Summoner's Cup from Aurora to Meteos.

He was too right. It only started ramping up as the singing started in earnest.

 _[All] Doo-doo-roo-Doo-doo-doo  
Kissing you, baby __(Kissing you, baby!)_ _  
Doo-doo-roo-Doo-doo-doo  
Loving you, baby __(Loving you, baby!)_

 _[Seohyun] Jangnanseureon neoye kiseuye gibuni joa_ _(Seo Joohyun!)_ _  
[Yoona] Gwiyeobge saechimhan pyojeong jieodo_ _(Im Yoona!)_ _  
[Taeyeon] Eoneu saenga naneun sungnyeocheoreom_ _(Kim Taeyeon!)_ _  
Nae ipsureun sageunsageun geudae ireum bureujyo_

 ** _English_**  
 _[All] Doo-doo-roo-Doo-doo-doo  
Kissing you, baby  
Doo-doo-roo-Doo-doo-doo  
Loving you, baby_

 _[Seohyun] I feel happy with your joking kiss  
[Yoona] Even if you have a cute and innocent expression  
[Taeyeon] Without knowing like a lady  
My lips are calling your name_

As Taeyeon started singing her part, we had a rare, precious moment where all our worries disappeared. Meteos called it a moment where he realized just how much of an impact our win had made just because he knew how very different it would have been if we'd lost, while I felt as if there was peace on Earth.

 _[All] Geudaewa bareul matchumyeo geotgo_ _(Geotgo!)_ _  
Neoye du soneul jabgo_ _(Jabgo!)_ _  
Ni eokkaeye gidaeyeo malhago shipeo_ _(Sunny jjang!)_  
 _[Sunny] "Gomawo saranghae haengbongman julgeyo"  
Kissing you, oh my love_

 _ **English**_ _  
[All] We walk with matching steps  
Holding our hands  
I want to lean on your shoulder and tell you,  
[Sunny] "Thank you! I love you! I will only give you happiness!"_  
 _Kissing you, oh my love_

"Yo, this is too good!" Sneaky said, a big grin plastered on his face. Even he was moving a bit in time with the music, drumming lightly against the Summoner's Cup as it was placed back on the pedestal before another of us picked it up again.

None of us disagreed. I was waving my hands over my head in time to the beat as the chorus had started, and we had all cheered as Sunny came front and center for her bit.

 _[All] Naeireun ttaseuhanssal soge_ _(Soge!)_ _  
Neoneun nae yeope nuwo_ _(Nuwo!)_ _  
Saranghae norael bulleojumyeo useojwo_ _(Kwon Yuri!)_ _  
[Yuri] Dalkomhan "saranghae" gibun joeun hanmadi_

 _ **English**_  
 _[All] Tomorrow, you are lying next to me  
In the warm sun  
When I sing you a love song, you smile  
[Yuri] The sweet, happy words – "I love you"_

"Holy crap, they're really bringing it!" Lemon said just after he'd lifted the trophy with help from me and Aurora and kissed it.

"They really are." I replied fervently. "I can't help but wonder if that was what it was like for them watching us for those last three teamfights."

"I can see what you mean, dude. My mind's getting blown already – at this rate, my brain's going to be scattered all over the place at the end of this!" Meteos said.

 _[All] Doo-doo-roo-Doo-doo-doo  
Kissing you, baby __(Kissing you, baby!)_ _  
Doo-doo-roo-Doo-doo-doo  
Loving you, baby __(Loving you, baby!)_

 _[Tiffany] Nuneul gamgo neoye ipsure kiseureul hamyeon_ _(Tiffany!)_ _  
[Hyoyeon] Nae boreun pingkeubit mori deureodo_ _(Kim Hyoyeon!)_ _  
[Jessica] Nae maeumeun imi neomeogago_ _(Jessica!)_ _  
_ _ _Nae gaseumen d_ ugeundugeun shimjangsori deullijyo_

 ** _English_**  
 _[All] Doo-doo-roo-Doo-doo-doo  
Kissing you, baby  
Doo-doo-roo-Doo-doo-doo  
Loving you, baby_

 _[Tiffany] When I kiss you while closing my eyes  
[Hyoyeon] My cheeks turn red  
[Jessica] I have already fallen for you  
In my chest, you can hear my heart beating_

While we'd continued to thoroughly enjoy the performance, our anticipation was also building again for where we came in.

"Oh, man. You guys ready?" I asked Hai, Balls and Aurora – we would be part of the surprises in a matter of seconds and that would mean we'd be front and center with them – Aurora most of all.

"As we'll ever be." Aurora said, but added with a smile. "I know now, though, that we wouldn't feel right if all seven of us just stood up here, even if it was with the Summoner's Cup."

"You're right, Aurora." Hai said. "I don't know about you, but I'm even more excited to dance with Tae _noona_ after seeing this."

"Hey, I don't usually say it myself, but 'same'." I said, slapping his hand. "I'm still scared of messing up but I'm more excited to get out there with Fany _noona_."

We shared a laugh and got back to enjoying the performance even as our instinct to focus quickly kicked in.

 _[All] Geudaewa bareul matchumyeo geotgo_ _(Geotgo!)_ _  
Neoye du soneul jabgo_ _(Jabgo!)_ _  
Ni eokkaeye gidaeyeo malhago shipeo_ _(Seo Joohyun!)_ _  
[Seohyun] "Gomawo saranghae haengbongman julgeyo"  
Kissing you, oh my love_

 _[All] Naeireun ttaseuhanssal soge_ _(Soge!)_  
 _Neoneun nae yeope nuwo_ _(Nuwo!)_ _  
Saranghae norael bulleojumyeo useojwo_ _(Choi Sooyoung!)_ _  
[Sooyoung] Dalkomhan "saranghae" gibun joeun hanmadi_

 _ **English**_ _  
[All] We walk with matching steps  
Holding our hands  
I want to lean on your shoulder and tell you,  
[Seohyun] "Thank you! I love you! I will only give you happiness!"_  
 _Kissing you, oh my love_

 _[All] Tomorrow, you are lying next to me  
In the warm sun  
When I sing you a love song, you smile  
[Sooyoung] The sweet, happy words – "I love you"_

"Mr. Daniel Wayne Sermons!" Jessica said, indicating the Imagine Dragons guitarist.

He launched into a guitar solo that would stretch over the next verse. It had genuine rock energy without deviating from the song, which was fantastic. The Soshis had moved back to the foot of the platform and were cheering him on as he gave them an appreciative smile, clearly having fun.

"Oh, this just got even better." Meteos said with a big grin.

"You want me to ask them if there's any Girls' Generation music that could use a trombone?" Sneaky asked, laughing.

"Certainly wouldn't hurt!" Meteos replied, laughing as well. "Just give me some time to practice – I haven't done it in a long time."

"We've actually got some dance requests for the guys too...Sunny, wanna start?"

"Sure!" Sunny replied. She came over to Balls and asked brightly, "Ready, Balls?"

"I'm ready!" He replied with a smile, his mic turned back on – as were Hai's and mine for a little later.

She took him out to the center and they danced together a bit before what would normally be the chorus kicked in. They incorporated a cool part where he got to show off his strength a little and lift her up, before she kissed him on the cheek after he put her down. They even had an _aegyo_ finish, with Sunny finishing with an eye smile and two peace signs at the yes while Balls had a piece sign out in front of him.

"Okay, Tae!" Sunny called as she came back with Balls while the fans cheered them.

Taeyeon smiled and went over to Hai with an outstretched hand. "Hai, could I have this dance?" She asked.

"I'd be honored, Taengoo _noona_." Hai replied, returning her smile and taking her hand.

They came out to the center and danced for what would normally be the first half of the chorus. They smoothly worked into their moves a part where Taeyeon took off Hai's wrist braces – first on one hand and then the other – before she went behind him and held him with his hands over his chest while he breathed deeply and then exhaled, smiling. The message was clear – Taeyeon knew what kind of pain Hai had suffered and braved, and she was there to take it all away and make him a new man. She smiled back at him as if to say, "Feeling better?" and then continued dancing with him until the end of their section, where she spun back towards him and kissed him.

"Fany!" She called, as a signal to her while she moved back with Hai while they took more cheers for their dance.

Tiffany nodded and smiled, then turned to me and asked, "Carlo, wanna dance with me?"

"Yes, ma'am!" I replied, my face lit up.

She took my hand as I stepped down, and we almost skipped happily to center stage for the second half of the chorus. The dance we'd worked on was lively and not overly complicated, but it did include a lot of footwork and included us holding hands throughout. We ended with a whip with a single outside turn that ended with Tiffany reaching up and kissing me. The music then eased off and we leaned into each other to allow for a brief spoken interlude that we'd worked out backstage to capture the moment.

"I wish this moment would never end..." I said earnestly as the cheers lasted into the start of the interlude.

"It won't." Tiffany replied reassuringly, looking at me. "Because this will last forever...I know it will."

I met her eyes and then looked back at the others, who were all smiling back. Then I turned back to her with my smile growing again and said, "You're right."

"Shall we take 'em higher?" Tiffany asked rhetorically.

I looked behind me, and Sneaky tossed me Tiffany's lollipop. I let go of her, caught it, turned back to her, bowed, and held it out to her, saying, "Go get 'em!"

She curtsied, beamed and accepted it, and I went back up to the platform with the team and the Summoner's Cup, clapping my hands in time with the music as it went back to full volume and Girls' Generation stepped forward again. Hai's, Balls' and my mics were also turned back off so we had license to cheer without being distracting.

 _[Sunny] Saranghae, saranghae_ _(Saranghae, saranghae)_ _  
Neomaneul saranghae haneulmankeum  
[Taeyeon] Eonjena haengbokhage hwanhan useum julge  
[Jessica] Neomane sojunghan yeoja chingu yaksokhae_

 _[Seohyun] Neoneun nae yeope itgo_  
 _Naye du nune itgo  
Neoye pumanen hangsang naega isseulge  
[Jessica] (Naega isseulge)_

 _ **English**_  
 _[Sunny] I love you, I love you  
I love only you as much as heaven  
[Taeyeon] I will always make you happy and smile  
[Jessica] I'll promise you a precious girlfriend_

 _[Seohyun] You stay next to me  
And you're in my eyes  
I will always be in your arms  
[Jessica] (I will be)_

Then it got even better. As she hit her high note, Jessica caught another lollipop from LemonNation and tossed it towards Aurora, whose mic had just been turned back on as well. She jumped down, caught it and then seamlessly joined in dancing and singing the last chorus as Girls' Generation made space for her and the crowd roared and applauded.

"Oh, my God, look at her go!" Balls cheered along with the rest of us.

"No kidding!" I yelled. "Go get 'em, Aurora!"

 _[All] Geudaewa bareul matchumyeo geotgo_ _(Geotgo!)_ _  
Neoye du soneul jabgo_ _(Jabgo!)_ _  
Ni eokkaeye gidaeyeo malhago shipeo_ _(Kim Taeyeon!)_

 _ **English**_ _  
[All] We walk with matching steps  
Holding our hands  
I want to lean on your shoulder and tell you_

There had one more major surprise planned. Taeyeon had invited Aurora to join her for her trademark high note part, which unquestionably was saying a lot because of how revered Taeyeon is for her voice alone.

"Come on, girls, you got it!" Hai yelled as they came to the center.

We were all crossing our fingers, but we needn't have worried. They were ready and hit it perfectly.

 _"Gomawo saranghae haengbongman julgeyo"  
Kissing you, oh my love_

 _ **English**_ _  
"Thank you! I love you! I will only give you happiness!"_  
 _Kissing you, oh my love_

"Oh, yeah!" Meteos shouted as we and the crowd cheered again. "You rock it!"

"Holy crap, this is just amazing." Hai said. "Let's get ready quick – we need to be ready for the end, Balls."

"Got it, boss!" Balls replied, and he and Hai took hold of the trophy, getting ready.

We also got ready, but also made sure to savor the last part:

 _[All] Naeireun ttaseuhanssal soge_ _(Soge!)_ _  
Neoneun nae yeope nuwo_ _(Nuwo!)_ _  
Saranghae norael bulleojumyeo useojwo_ _(Tiffany!)_ _  
[Tiffany] Dalkomhan saranghae gibun joeun hanmadi  
[Jessica/Aurora] Dalkomhan saranghae gibun joeun  
[Seohyun] Saranghae hanmadi_

 _ **English**_ _  
[All] Tomorrow, you are lying next to me  
In the warm sun  
When I sing you a love song, you smile  
[Tiffany] The sweet, happy words – "I love you"  
[Jessica/Aurora] Happy words – "I love you"  
[Seohyun] Sweet words – "I love you"_

Right after that last line, as the outro began, the girls parted ranks and allowed Hai and Balls to come forward carrying the Summoner's Cup between them. They placed it down on the stage floor, knelt on either side of it, beaming, and made peace signs – in Hai's case, his _aegyo_ one where he put the peace sign up to his eye and eye smiled. The girls closed ranks behind them and did the customary kneeling/standing lollipop-waving ending pose, while the other guys followed close and saluted the crowd with peace signs (in my case, I opted for a #1 sign and Sneaky gave a thumbs-up.) The crowd bellowed out the last part of the fanchant at full volume:

 _Jigemun, So Nyuh Shi Dae!  
Apeurodo, So Nyuh Shi Dae!  
Yeongwonhi So Nyuh Shi Dae!_

 _ **English**_ _  
_ _Right Now, It's Girls' Generation!  
Forward, Girls' Generation!  
Forever Girls' Generation!_

Hearing the crowd go as nuts as they did as the song ended made us feel as if the sixteen of us had just won Worlds all over again.

We all joined hands side by side and bowed to all four sides of the stadium, and it was as we finished that the emotions started setting back in. Jessica was smiling and had tears in her eyes, and the rest of us quickly surrounded her supportively.

"Don't worry...I'm just so happy!" She managed to say.

We all hugged her as we understood what she meant – the way it had turned out meant that she'd gone out on top, and that was something that felt so far away when we'd come to Korea.

Hai and Taeyeon, seeing this, looked at each other and nodded.

"Hey, bring it in, guys!" He called.

We all nodded and quickly huddled up, arm in arm and shoulder to shoulder, with Taeyeon and Hai next to each other.

"Listen to these people. They don't want us to stop, and I don't think you want to either." Taeyeon said, glowing.

"Damn right we don't, ma'am!" Meteos said.

"Yeah, we've all got more of that, Tae _unnie_ – and that includes the guys!" Seohyun agreed, smiling at us.

Taeyeon smiled at her and then at the rest of us affectionately. "I know, Seo. Hai and I do too – we'll keep doing our best for you guys. We've got a championship to celebrate and we'll be on opposite sides of the Pacific again soon, but let's make sure we keep working hard and fighting together. Two teams, sixteen minds, sixteen souls, _one heart –_ that's what won it tonight."

"Yeah, Taengoo _unnie_!" Hyoyeon whooped, as we all nodded, smiled and expressed our approval.

Taeyeon nodded at Hai, inviting him to add to it. He nodded back and told us, "Look out there – a stadium full of people screaming for C9 and SNSD, and that's because of what we manged to do tonight. All of them are reasons why we need to keep working hard – we can't afford to let them down with what we do from here."

"Absolutely, Hai." Yuri responded.

"Damn right!" Sneaky agreed.

Hai smiled at him and then finished, "We've bagged the biggest title in this business and I'm with you guys – it's going to be an awesome party because we've all earned it. Hunting season is gonna start before we know it, though, so let's continue to make sure that they're the mice and we're the hawks."

"Let's do it!" Aurora responded, as the other fifteen of us also heartily approved.

"Nice!" Hai said, and then he put his right hand in the center. "All right, everybody, hands in!"

We all joined in and put our hands in the center, meeting our leaders' eyes and then looking around at the others.

"Taengoo _noona_..." Hai said, inviting her to speak.

"Yes." Taeyeon said. "Everyone, 'Fighting,' 'Fighting', 'Fighting,' and then Hai will finish us off. Ready?"

"Ready." We answered. She smiled back, and then cheered,

"So Nyuh Shi Dae!"

 _"Fighting!"_ We yelled, bouncing our hands in the center.

"Cloud 9!"

 _"Fighting!"_

" _Gagja modu!_ (Everyone!)"

 _"Fighting!"_

Hai then spoke up. "'As One' on three. One, two, three!"

 _"As One!"_ We responded as we broke the huddle to added cheers.

"Hang on, let's let them get a chance to lift the Cup too!" Meteos said.

The rest of us agreed, and he, Aurora and Sneaky picked up the trophy and handed it to Jessica, Tiffany and Taeyeon. They beamed as they raised it and the crowd cheered their approval, and then they also did a cool bit where Sunny got under the Summoner's Cup and looked as if she were doing an _aegyo_ pose while balancing it on her head while the three Soshis holding the trophy supported its full weight. Then they passed the trophy to her, Yoona and Yuri and then finally to Seohyun, Hyoyeon and Sooyoung. It then came back to Taeyeon, Hai and Tiffany, who led us as we carried it off the stage and started on a victory lap.

* * *

 ** _Final Rankings_**

 **1st** – Cloud 9 (North America)  
 **2nd** – Oh My God (China)  
 **3rd/4th** – Samsung Galaxy White (Korea)  
 **3rd/4th** – Team SoloMid (North America)  
 **5th-8th** – Alliance (Europe)  
 **5th-8th** – SK Telecom T1 K (Korea)  
 **5th-8th** – Fnatic (Europe)  
 **5th-8th** – Counter Logic Gaming (North America)  
 **9th-12th** – Samsung Galaxy Blue (Korea)  
 **9th-12th** – Edward Gaming (China)  
 **9th-12th** – Star Horn Royal Club (China)  
 **9th-12th** – SK Gaming (Europe)  
 **13th-16th** – KaBum! E-Sports (Brazil)  
 **13th-16th** – Legacy E-Sports (Oceania)  
 **13th-16th** – Taipei Assassins (Southeast Asia)  
 **13th-16th** – AHQ E-Sports Club (Southeast Asia)


	7. IEM San Jose: Tell Me - Gee

_**Opening Author's Notes**_  
 _Whoa, another chapter that got a lot bigger than I thought it would! This is also both an epilogue/wind-down chapter with some extra goodies thrown in. Also was hoping we'd get something other than Korea vs. Korea again in the Worlds final just for variety's sake, but I'm still hopeful we'll get some riveting action._

* * *

 _ **Intel Extreme Masters Season IX (2014-2015)  
San Jose – **__**League of Legends**_  
 ** _SAP Center, San Jose, California, USA_**  
 _ **December 6th – 7th, 2014**_

Aurora woke the morning after the final with a big smile on her face. We had been overcome with happiness as we'd made our victory lap at the World Cup Stadium, stopping by the Riot broadcast and analyst desks to say hello to them and to the fans. After we'd left the building, we'd had dinner together at a place serving some high-end Korean barbecue, and it had included drinks. I normally didn't drink at all since I wanted to be the sober one just in case something happened to me or to someone close who was drinking, but I allowed myself a glass of champagne and even a bit of Bailey's, which thankfully wasn't enough to get me drunk. Hai, Meteos, Sunny and Yuri were among those who had drunk a little more and who had gone home that night tipsy.

She came out in her nightshirt to find that I was at my station in my pajamas checking out the reaction from the previous night now that 12 or so hours had passed. I'd spent a lot of time on Reddit, where the topics that had caught my eye included,

\- [Spoiler] Oh My God vs. Cloud 9 / 2014 World Championship FINAL / Post-Match Discussion [/r/LeagueOfLegends]  
\- "As One" – Discussing the bombshell SNSD/C9 partnership [/r/LeagueOfLegends and /r/KPop]  
\- Cloud 9 welcomes Jessica Jung as consulting manager [/r/LeagueOfLegends and /r/KPop]  
\- [Live] Kissing You – Girls' Generation featuring Cloud 9 and Wayne Parsons (Imagine Dragons) at the _LoL_ 2014 World Championship Finals [/r/KPop]  
\- [Spoiler] The Genie Pentakill [/r/LeagueOfLegends]

In the "As One" topics, a Rioter had come up with the following information list:

 _ **Combined Roster (Ages as of the 2014 Worlds Final on October 19)**_

 **SNSD | Tiffany** – Tiffany Hwang / Hwang Miyoung (United States, Age 25)  
Nickname: Brighter Than Gems  
Hometown: Diamond Bar, California

 **SNSD | Taeyeon** – Kim Taeyeon (South Korea, Age 25)  
Nickname: The Little Leader  
Hometown: Jeonju, Jeollabuk-do

 **SNSD | Sunny** – Lee Sunkyu (South Korea, Age 25)  
Nickname: The Energy Pill  
Hometown: Seoul

 **SNSD | Yoona** – Im Yoona (South Korea, Age 24)  
Nickname: The Charming Girl  
Hometown: Seoul

 **SNSD | Seohyun** – Seo Joohyun (South Korea, Age 23)  
Nickname: The Soshi _Maknae_  
Hometown: Seoul

 **SNSD | Hyoyeon** – Kim Hyoyeon (South Korea, Age 25)  
Nickname: The Dancing Queen  
Hometown: Incheon

 **SNSD | Yuri** – Kwon Yuri (South Korea, Age 24)  
Nickname: The Black Pearl  
Hometown: Goyang, Gyeonggi

 **SNSD | Sooyoung** – Choi Sooyoung (South Korea, Age 24)  
Nickname: The Fun-Loving Princess  
Hometown: Gwangju, Gyeonggi

 **C9 | Jessica** – Jessica Jung / Jung Sooyeon (United States, Age 25)  
Nickname: The Ice Princess  
Hometown: San Francisco, California

 **C9 | Hai** – Hai Du Lam (United States, Age 22)  
Nickname: The Master Shotcaller  
Hometown: Grandville, Grand Rapids, Michigan

 **C9 | Aurora** – Caroline Aurora Lea (Canada, Age 22)  
Nickname: Graceful Force  
Hometown: Toronto, Ontario

 **C9 | Carlo** – Phillip Carlo Santos (United States, Age 21)  
Nickname: The Visionary  
Hometown: Winston-Salem, North Carolina

 **C9 | Sneaky** – Zach Scuderi (United States, Age 20)  
Nickname: The Meme Master  
Hometown: Winter Garden, Orlando, Florida

 **C9 | Meteos** – Will Hartman (United States, Age 21)  
Nickname: The Unkillable  
Hometown: Fairfax, Virginia

 **C9 | Balls** – An Van Le (United States, Age 20)  
Nickname: The Wrecking Ball  
Hometown: Pharr, Texas

 **C9 | LemonNation** – Daerek Hart (United States, Age 25)  
Nickname: The Death Note  
Hometown: Eden Prairie, Minneapolis, Minnesota

I got a big kick out of it, smiling as I replied to it, "Cool work! Will run the nickname list by the others. We'll be interviewed back at the World Cup Stadium by Riot and Arirang."

Thankfully, the interview was in the afternoon, so those of us who had slept late, drank a lot or both had ample time to wake up and shake off any hangovers. When we got there, we found that the interviewers were Jatt, Sjokz and Isak. Some of my favorite questions and responses included:

 _ **Sjokz:**_ _We'll start with a simple question – what's been the reaction from your fans about this one-of-a-kind parnership?_

 _ **Taeyeon:**_ _It's been incredibly positive. A lot of our fans play_ _League_ _, and a bunch of them say – and I'll leave this up to debate – that they don't think even a Korean team could have produced the same result if we'd partnered with them._

 _ **Hai:**_ _A friend back home texted me and asked whether Cloud 9_ _League_ _had become the_ _League of Legends_ _sub-unit of Girls' Generation. I got a big laugh out of that._

 _ **Balls:**_ _On a more humorous note, I had a friend asking me if Girls' Generation passed A Pink on my list of K-Pop favorites._

 _ **Isak:**_ _Before the final, from those of us looking at it from the K-Pop side, it feels like there was this overriding feeling of something coming to an end...and now it feels like it's the start of something big, potentially something huge. What do you want to do next?_

 _ **Hai:**_ _We're just trying to take it one step at a time because this is obviously uncharted territory, but we know we want to continue to be there for the girls because we're going to need each other's support going forward. From our end specifically, we're going to enjoy this win back home and then make sure we're ready for IEM San Jose in December. We know that Season 5 is going to be underway soon and we know we have to start strong._

 _ **Taeyeon:**_ _On the immediate front, this is Cloud 9's last full day in Korea. Jessica's headed to Los Angeles with them, and so are Tiffany and Krystal for some well-earned R &R._

 _ **Sjokz:**_ _When was the first time you heard of the other group?_

 _ **Me:**_ _I remember seeing Yoona first in that cool Intel commercial playing_ _Wings of Liberty_ _with Boxer._

 _ **Tiffany:**_ _All-Stars when they beat SKT. There was quite the stir over here because of it...of course, Jessica and I, being the two "NA imports" so to speak, were interested to see who did it and how. You can imagine our surprise the first time we tuned into their streams and they were basically DJs taking requests and playing our music as they were streaming._

 _ **Isak:**_ _This one's for Cloud 9 – favorite Girls' Generation song?_

 _ **Sneaky:**_ _Gee_ _for me. I'm among those who likes it because it's got the obvious connection to "GG" – I actually like it as a kind of fight music that way._

 _ **Aurora:**_ _Genie_ _. Honorable mention goes to their cover of_ _Tell Me_ _._

 _ **Jatt:**_ _I'm admittedly trying to get a decent basic understanding of K-Pop, but as in Wonder Girls'_ _Tell Me_ _? Because I remember seeing that on YouTube because it was just so hard not to see it in the sidebar._

 _ **Sunny:**_ _That very one. It was_ _Music Bank_ _on the Fourth of July, 2008, and we actually swapped songs with Wonder Girls – we covered_ _Tell Me_ _while they covered_ _Kissing You_ _. It was the first time we'd gone with a sexier, more mature concept instead of just being cute._

 _ **Aurora:**_ _We've been listening to it a lot since this morning because it's fit so much, since we've been saying, "Tell me we're not dreaming this." That's to say nothing of everything else it's got going for it – it's a classic, it's sweet, it's sassy, it's got some rap in it..._

 _ **Me:**_ _Yo, can we pull it up on the monitor so those who haven't seen it can check it out?_

 _ **Isak:**_ _We certainly can – we're actually going to take a commercial break and then come back._

Up until now, I've basically given you lyrics as we heard them. This time, tough, I'll spread it out because it's a song that summed up a lot of our feelings from all sixteen of us and continued to do so. That's to say nothing of how fun the performance was and is to watch and listen to.

 _[Tiffany (originally Sunmi)] Neodo nal johahal jureun mollasseo  
Eojjeomyeon joha neomuna joha  
Kkumman gataseo na  
Nae jasineul jakku kkojibeo bwa neomuna joha  
[Seohyun (originally Sohee)] Niga nal hoksi an johahalkkabwa  
Honja eolmana ae taeunji molla  
Geureonde niga nal saranghandani  
Omona! Dasi han beon malhaebwa_

 _ **English**_ _  
[Tiffany (originally Sunmi)] I didn't know that you'd like me too  
What do I do? I'm so happy  
In case it's a dream, I keep  
Pinching myself – I'm so happy  
[Seohyun (originally Sohee)] Do you know how much I worried  
About you not liking me?  
But you love me too  
Oh my! Say it again_

 _ **Meteos:**_ _Oh, man, Jatt, the look on your face once you'd seen the whole thing! You were having fun watching it – you had this look on your face as if to say, "Hey now!"_

 _ **Tiffany:**_ _Oh, don't tease him about that. To be fair, that was one of the reactions we were going for when we did that cover._

 _ **Jatt:**_ _Hey, you rocked that. Thanks for showing me that – give yourselves a round of applause!_

 _ **Sjokz:**_ _Early nicknames we've heard for you guys as a whole have included Cloud 9 Generation, Team Genie, the Genies...is there one that's your favorite?_

 _ **Jessica:**_ _I think it's simply Cloud 9 Generation because that's one that Tiffany and I decided on right after the quarterfinal because it was the first series they'd won after they'd decided to play for us too. But those other nicknames sound cool._

 _ **Jatt:**_ _One of our colleagues at Riot – and I know he works with us in the Los Angeles office – posted a combined roster on Reddit with names, nationalities, hometowns, ages and nicknames. I understand he used a lot of the existing Girls' Generation nicknames and also came up with some for Cloud 9, including using a few that some in the community have given. I know you've had some time to look it over – what do you make of the nicknames in particular?_

 _ **Seohyun:**_ _Me being the Soshi Maknae instead of just the maknae is important because while I'm the youngest in Girls' Generation, I'm older than every single Cloud 9 player except for Lemon._

 _ **LemonNation:**_ _There are times when I'll still address Seohyun – and for that matter, Yuri, Sooyoung and Yoona too – as "noona" because it feels strange being the only one who doesn't have to._

 _ **Taeyeon:**_ _I also like that it's 'little leader' instead of 'kid leader' in this case for similar reasons – I'm still young, but I'm the oldest of the sixteen of us._

 _ **Isak:**_ _That impromptu huddle after the performance and those speeches seemed to say so much. You guys look like you want to do and accomplish so much more together even if we don't know what's in your sights yet, and I think that's one of the things that's been so moving about this._

 _ **Tiffany:**_ _Carlo was telling me it was like he felt love and hope in the air and from the people. I think it was because when the stakes were high, we came together and showed them something they hadn't seen before and accomplished something that we hadn't before, and that's why we got such a feeling of "Thank you" and "We love you."_

 _ **Jessica:**_ _Between all that was going on – our last performance before my title changed from 'current member' to 'original and honorary member' and no North American team having won Worlds before – I felt like our combined fans were looking for a reason to believe...to fight...to sing. Because I know I was..._

 _ **Taeyeon:**_ _I think we all were at some point during this run, Sica, so no shame in that._

 _ **Hai:**_ _We weren't exempt from that either. But that's what people have told me and told us – one thing that they've liked so much about us as a whole is how much we're willing to fight for each other and the people around us even though we come from incredibly varying backgrounds. I think it's safe to say that as long as our fans keep giving us their energy, we'll try and amplify it and give it right back to them. And maybe it's through that that we can really accomplish some great things beyond just championships or fame or glory, as great as those are._

 _[All] Tell me, tell me, tell, tell, tell, tell, tell, tell me  
[Taeyeon (originally Yeeun)] Nareul saranghandago nal gidaryeo watdago  
[All] Tell me, tell me, tell, tell, tell, tell, tell, tell, tell me  
[Taeyeon (originally Yeeun)] Naega pillyohada malhae malhaejwoyo  
[All] Tell me, tell me, tell, tell, tell, tell, tell, tell me  
[Jessica (originally Sunye)] Jakkuman deutgo sipeo gyesok naege malhaejwo  
[All] Tell me, tell me, tell, tell, tell, tell, tell, tell, tell me  
[Jessica (originally Sunye)] Kkumi anirago malhae malhaejwoyo _

_**English**_ _  
[All] Tell me, tell me, tell, tell, tell, tell, tell, tell me  
[Taeyeon (originally Yeeun)] That you love me and that you waited for me  
[All] Tell me, tell me, tell, tell, tell, tell, tell, tell, tell me  
[Taeyeon (originally Yeeun)] Say you need me  
[All] Tell me, tell me, tell, tell, tell, tell, tell, tell me  
[Jessica (originally Sunye)] I want to hear it all the time, say it to me again  
[All] Tell me, tell me, tell, tell, tell, tell, tell, tell, tell me  
[Jessica (originally Sunye)] Say it's not a dream_

* * *

The next night, I had another dream.

I found myself in a white _barong tagalog_ with blue pants and a blue undershirt, and I was at what was apparently a brightly lit nighttime wedding. Judging by the fact that the air smelled uniquely sweet and that it was warm and humid with a view of the ocean behind a priest, I guessed I was in Hawaii.

I also found I was next to the other Cloud 9 boys, who were wearing blue tuxedos with white vests. The only one I didn't see was Hai until I looked towards the front and saw him in an all-white tuxedo with an ornate aquamarine lapel alongside a lady in a pink-accented white wedding dress.

It suddenly occurred to me to check who the bridesmaids were if we were the groomsmen and groom, and my insides jumped again as I did. Girls' Generation was there on the other side in its entirety in pink dresses, but with Aurora instead of Taeyeon. Aurora and then Tiffany caught my eye and beamed at me, and Tiffany gave me an eye smile before she tilted her head to the front, as if to tell me to keep my eyes there lest I miss something special.

And she was right. Right as I did so, the priest said, "You may kiss the bride."

Hai then beamed and turned to the bride, who handed her bouquet to the priest and drew back her veil herself. All at once, I smiled as my mouth fell open and my eyes went wide. It was Taeyeon.

She then cupped his face in her pink-gloved hands and kissed him. The other fourteen of us, along with the crowd, all whooped at that and burst out into cheers and applause that turned into a standing ovation.

"Look at them...it's so beautiful!" Seohyun said, clasping her hands.

"Oh, my God, that's just awesome." Sneaky said, also beaming.

"Yeah, Hai! Yeah, Tae _noona_!" Meteos cheered.

"Yeah, get him, Taengoo _unnie_!" Hyoyeon agreed.

"Oh, my goodness!" Aurora breathes, wiping away a tear of joy.

"Good God, that's amazing!" I said, laughing.

Taeyeon and Hai turned, still glowing and holding each other close, and looked out at the crowd. There were so many people who we knew from both the K-Pop and _League of Legends_ worlds – Heechul, Kyuhyun and the rest of Super Junior, Baekhyun and the rest of EXO and Big Bang were among those on one side, while pro gamers and Rioters like Faker, MadLife, xPeke, Dyrus, Froggen, Doublelift, Sjokz, Riv and Zirene were on the other side. It wasn't a massive audience, but it felt like they had enough noise and good wishes for the entire world.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Hai Du Lam and Mrs. Kim Taeyeon!" The priest announced with a big smile on his face.

It was one of those rare dreams where instead of a sudden awakening, the image gently and smoothly faded to reality. We were on the plane back to Los Angeles, and it was still the dead of night. All eleven of us – the seven players and coaches, plus Jack, Jessica, Krystal and Tiffany – were flying first class after we'd upgraded. Looking across the aisle, I could see Hai asleep with the Summoner's Cup nearby, while the Jungs were in the seats behind him (we had been changing seats occasionally so else weren't stuck with one person the whole flight.)

"Carlo..." I heard Tiffany say from the seat next to me.

I looked over at her to find that she had just awoken too and was wearing an amazed, fascinated expression that I could feel resembled my own. A thought suddenly hit me.

"What did you see?" I asked. "Were you in Hawaii too?"

"I was!" She answered. "Were you at the wedding?"

"Taeyeon's and Hai's?" I asked in response.

She nodded and said almost breathlessly. "Oh, my God, it was so beautiful."

"No kidding." I said fervently.

"You know, I remember looking down at my hand before we saw each other and seeing that I was wearing a ring too...it knew in my heart that it was from you." She said with a loving look.

"Another beautiful thought." I said with a warmly smile. "Okay. Let's get this straight – we both just dreamed about all sixteen of us being bridesmaids, groomsmen and the newlyweds at Hai's and Taeyeon's future wedding in Hawaii, and we were engaged to boot?"

"Yeah. I'm fairly certain it was that – if you and I were engaged at the same time as Taeyeon and Hai, I think they'd get married first every time." She replied. Then she added, "One other thing I remember...It felt as if the world was celebrating all of us being together and them getting married. It was like we had indeed continued to give hope to people and they were celebrating that too...One thing I know for sure – I'm ready to do my part to make that dream a reality." Her voice was firm as she finished.

"Me too, Fany _noona_." I said, taking her hand gently but firmly. We smiled at each other.

 _[Seohyun (originally Sunmi)] Eojjeom nae gaseumi ireoke ttwini  
Gaseumi jeongmal teojil geot gata  
Niga nal bol ttaemyeon  
Jeongie gamjeondoen saramcheoreom jeongiga olla  
[Sunny (originally Sohee)] Eolmana orae gidarinji molla  
Eolmana orae kkum kkwonneunji molla  
Geureonde niga nal saranghandani  
Omona! Dasi han beon malhaebwa_

 _ **English**_  
 _[Seohyun (originally Sunmi)] My heart is beating so fast  
I think it's going to pop  
Whenever you look at me  
I feel like I've just been electrocuted  
[Sunny (originally Sohee)] Do you know how long I've waited for this?  
Do you know how long I've been dreaming of this?  
But you love me too  
Oh my! Say it again_

About 100 or so fired-up people were waiting at LAX to welcome us back, see the Summoner's Cup and say hello to Jessica, Tiffany and Krystal. It was also the first time Jessica, Tiffany and Krystal had worn the new C9 jersey in public, which further added to things. While Tiffany and Krystal were still with us, we indeed brought the Summoner's Cup to the Riot office in Los Angeles and got a tour for them and Jessica of the office and the NA LCS studio. We did, of course, still mix in outings, including a few times where Tiffany and I took each other out around LA, including at Disneyland (I'm a big fan and had actually done the College Program while I'd been in school.)

At the end of October, we all split up for a few days to visit family and recharge by ourselves. In early November, we reunited, and Hai picked up Taeyeon at LAX as she wanted to visit us – especially Hai – and attend BlizzCon. She toured the event with us and was excited to try out the upcoming _StarCraft II_ expansion, _Legacy of the Void_ , and watch the WCS Global Finals. It also gave us a chance to interact with and cheer on other C9 divisions.

* * *

At the start of December, we traveled to San Jose, where we were due to participate in the Intel Extreme Masters event there, which would include _StarCraft_ as well as _League_. This would be our first event of Season 5, which also meant it would be our first pursuing a second straight World Championship.

It would only have six teams in it and two of them were from Wild Card regions, although TSM would also be there along with Alliance, but there was a lot at stake. We understood that this was our chance to make a great first impression – and that that was what we had to deliver as the reigning world champions. Victory would also enter us into the IEM World Championship in Katowice, Poland, to be held in March. As Taeyeon and Hai had said, it was the last tournament that Cloud 9 had entered and _not_ won (we'd lost to Fnatic in the semifinals two months before Aurora's and my call-ups for All-Stars.)

As we had the first day off since we had a first-round bye as NA LCS champions, we watched the first-round games both just to enjoy ourselves as spectators and to size up the competition. Once that was done, we split up for the time being. I went to watch the _StarCraft_ tournament, and I smiled and waved to the crowd when cameras picked me out and they elected to put me on the screen. During a break, my phone went off, and I silently gasped when I saw it was Tiffany.

"Hello, honey!" I answered, picking it up on my headset.

"Hi, Carlo!" She replied brightly. "How are you?"

"Oh, good, thanks! Just winding down a bit after watching the first-round games." I said. "How about you?"

"I'm watching as well, actually. Liked how you reacted when the camera singled you out!" She replied, and we shared a laugh. She then added, "It looks like they're in between series – is it okay if we talk during the break?"

"Sure, I'd love to!" I answered.

"Great!" She replied. Then she replied a bit cryptically, "Just one thing...not over the phone this time."

"Oh, sorry...Skype, then?" I asked apologetically.

"Good guess, but no." She replied. "I've got an even better idea. Look behind you."

I looked behind me and jumped. Tiffany had just sat down in the row behind me. She was wearing pants, a jacket and a baseball cap that didn't give much away, but the light in her face and eyes revealed it was her.

"Oh, my God! What are you doing in San Jose, Fany _noona_?" I asked, as she came down and sat next to me before we shared a hug.

"We've got a video shoot, actually, in a few days in LA, so we decided to come a few days early and say hello to everyone!" She replied.

"'We'? Are you telling me the whole group is in San Jose?" I asked, bewildered but even more thrilled.

She nodded and almost squealed, "We made it!"

As if in further answer, my phone went off again. Seeing it was from Jessica, I quickly put the headset back on and answered. "Hello, Sica _noona_!"

"Hi, Carlo!" She said brightly. "Does Tiff have you?"

"She does!" I replied. "And she just finished telling me that we're sixteen strong here, never mind eight or nine!"

"We sure are!" Jessica answered, and I could see her smile even though we weren't on a vieo call. "Even I didn't see this coming – Jack was the only one who knew they were coming to San Jose before today. Listen, we're at the Starbucks on Santa Clara Street with a fan of ours who wants our help. Can you meet us there?"

"We're on our way." I said eagerly.

* * *

"This is Mary. She's a SONE and C9 fan who's visiting us from Lucile Packard Children's Hospital up at Stanford." Jessica told us once we'd arrived, indicating a brunette girl no older than 10 who was standing in the midst of the others.

"Hi, Mary!" I said, shaking her hand. I then turned back to Jessica and said, "That makes sense – Palo Alto's only 30 minutes away from San Jose."

"Hang on...she must have just beaten an illness if she's visting us from a hospital and looks this healthy." Tiffany said.

"She did, actually." Jessica replied. "She just managed to beat lupus!"

"Really?" I said. "Congratulations! I have a friend who's been fighting it too, so I always like seeing someone beat it."

"Thanks a lot!" Mary replied. "I wanted to ask, though...I'm so glad I'm able to meet everyone now that I'm better, but I don't want to be the only one of us in the ward who gets to meet you guys. I have friends there who have gone through worse or are still not over their sicknesses yet, and we're all either C9 or SNSD fans...is it okay if you visited the ward to cheer everyone up?"

We all looked at each other and quickly smiled and nodded. Seeing that, Jessica replied, "We'll be glad to! Let the people know you're coming back with visitors, but don't let them know it's us."

"Don't worry, Jessica, I've got it covered. I'm good at keeping secrets." Mary replied with a smile.

 _[All] Tell me, tell me, tell, tell, tell, tell, tell, tell me  
[Jessica] Nareul saranghandago nal gidaryeo watdago  
[All] Tell me, tell me, tell, tell, tell, tell, tell, tell, tell me  
[Taeyeon] Kkumi anirago malhae malhaejwoyo _

_**English**_ _  
[All] Tell me, tell me, tell, tell, tell, tell, tell, tell me  
[Jessica (originally Yeeun)] That you love me and that you waited for me  
[All] Tell me, tell me, tell, tell, tell, tell, tell, tell, tell me  
[Taeyeon (originally Sunye)] Say it's not a dream_

* * *

We made a stop at Chipotle first to get some dinner to go, and true to her word, Sooyoung bought burritos, chips and drinks for her and Meteos. We then made the relatively short drive northwest to Palo Alto in a pair of vans.

Mary was first the first to enter, and she surprised

"Oh, my goodness! I'm so glad to meet all of you, but I'm even more thrilled at the thought of what the children will do!" She said. "Hang on one moment – let me just make sure all the patients and their rooms are ready to receive visitors."

As she went off, Sneaky asked Hai with a knowing grin, "You reckon we ought to do a charity stream for these guys? We've brought a laptop and equipment, so we could even do it from here. Plus, it's not like we haven't done a hospital stream before."

"A hospital stream?" Hyoyeon asked.

"Hai told me about it during Worlds." Taeyeon explained. "When he was hospitalized with the collapsed lung before All-Stars, he actually brought a laptop and streamed from his bed. He even had the nerve to play Surgeon Shen at a time like that. He said he wanted to keep practicing and get his mind off the pain."

"I was also on a respirator and could barely talk, but I could still type in chat." Hai added. "I also accidentally gave the stream chat a big scare when I fell asleep in the middle of a game because I was still weak and woozy. They thought I'd died."

"I saw the footage." Sneaky said, nodding and grinning. "A lot of 'RIP' and some were even asking if he was respawning. You know I love to meme, but that was a bit too dank even for me."

We gladly ended up spending a few hours there. The seven C9 players and coaches all took turns streaming as we visited each patient, and the stream quickly drew the attention of other pro gamers and casters as the donations poured in. We saved Meteos and then Sneaky for last since they had the biggest subscriber bases, and so Sneaky was our anchor streamer as we visited the last patient we hadn't yet met. She was a Korean girl named Mimi who had come over with her family in the past year when her parents had been assigned by their company to partner with an American one, and like Mary, she was also a big fan of both Girls' Generation and Cloud 9. She had just finished a very tough round of chemotherapy for leukemia and was thankfully considered to be cancer-free, but she was still regaining her strength, and one could tell she'd been through a lot by looking at her. She had come the closest to death more times than the others over the previous few months, which was why Mary had said she was the one who could use our help the most and why we'd saved visiting her for last.

Sneaky was streaming with our laptop on a table with his back to the bed, which allowed folks to see a bit of what was going on over there. He was finishing the champion select for an ARAM and reading donations as Yuri came over to check on him.

He smiled and chuckled as he read, "C9Sone donates $10 and says, 'Loving what all of you have been doing for those children – take my donation and shove it right up cancer's butthole.'"

Yuri laughed and smiled at that. He then spotted her and said, "Oh, hi, Yuri _noona_! You'll really like to hear the one that came in just before that...C9_BlackPearl also donated $10 and said, 'Thrilled to see C9 Generation teaming up again for such a great cause. Could I get a kiss from Yuri, my favorite Soshi and my inspiration?'"

Yuri clasped her hands and was clearly touched. She asked, "Can I borrow your headset, Sneaky?"

"Definitely." Sneaky said, and he even slid over to allow Yuri to sit next to him. She smiled at that and did so as she put the headset on and made sure she was perfectly visible on the stream camera. She then said, " _Yoboseyo_ , Black Pearl! It's me, Yuri. Thanks for donating tonight! I'm honored to be someone you admire – we'll keep working hard for you. Make sure you support Sneaky and Cloud 9 tomorrow because it'll be their turn!" She then blew a kiss at the camera.

"Oh, my God." Sneaky said, blushing slightly. _"Kam sam needa!"_

Yuri beamed at him, took off the headset and put it back on him before she went back over to where the other Soshis, plus Hai, Aurora and I, were surrounding Mimi's hospital bed (Meteos, Lemon and Balls were visiting other patients again after the other patients had asked if they could see them again.)

"Sunny _unnie_?" Mimi asked weakly, looking at her and extending her hand as best as she could.

"Yes?" Sunny asked. She took Mimi's hand gently but firmly and added, "I'm here."

"I'm so glad you're here especially...not only are you my favorite, but you helped my friend from when I was in Korea." Mimi said, a happy tear leaking out of her eye. "I think you remember his name – Eunchanie?"

"Oh, my God." Aurora breathed.

"No way." I said, stunned as I recognized the name as well.

We both looked at Sunny, but she was already saying, "I do remember him...the boy who likes _Gee_ and who falls asleep to _FM Date_ because he said my voice is pretty and soothing!" She then turned to the two of us and asked, "You heard it too?"

"Yeah, someone put it on YouTube." Aurora said. "I showed it to Carlo and we both enjoyed it. It was too cute." I nodded and smiled as she finished.

"Wait, what happened?" Yuri asked. The other Soshis were listening attentively.

"There was an 8-year-old boy named Eunchanie who wrote a letter in to _FM Date_ back in May." Sunny narrated. "He said that he and his mother really liked the show and listened to it every night, and he also said he really liked me and my voice and asked if I could call him. So I did on the air, and he was just the cutest thing. It turns out that he likes to fall asleep listening to me. I was even able to buy him some chicken that night and invite him into the studio later."

"You want to tell the other thing you said about him, _unnie_?" Aurora asked. She saw Sunny blushing slightly, and added, "If you won't, then I will – and I don't think it's a bad thing, because it was adorable and a great thought."

"Yes." Sunny replied, smiling and then turning back to the others as she finished, "I said I wanted to have a son like him later."

We all looked warmly back at her. "Hang on, here it is." Aurora said, as she finished pulling the clip up on her phone. We watched it with rapt interest, and by the end, we were all applauding Sunny and giving her high-fives.

"I was so happy when I heard that." Mimi said. "I apologize if this is a poor question, but if you had a daughter instead of a son, who would you want her to be like?"

"Like you, Mimi." Sunny answered warmly. "Who wouldn't want a daughter as pretty and brave as you?"

"Oh, _unnie_... _saranghaeyo!_ " Mimi cried, almost choked up at the end as she made to hug her.

" _Saranghaeyo,_ Mimi!" Sunny said, allowing Mimi to cry into her. Sunny wasn't crying herself, but she gave off a beautiful and yet powerful aura that told us that she would lay down her life for her if she had to. After a few moments, she asked, "I know you must be anxious to get back to doing everything you loved doing before your treatment...what do you want to resume first?"

"I'd love to get back to singing." Mimi replied.

"I know what you mean." Tiffany said. "Do you have a favorite song?"

" _Into The New World_ , Fany _unnie_." Mimi answered. "I'd listen to it so much while I was undergoing treatments...I remember it was never as bad if I kept those words in my head and in my heart."

 _"Omo..."_ Taeyeon said, putting her hand to her mouth as some of the other Soshis also did. "Tell you what, Mimi, hang on. We'll think of something and do it when Sneaky finishes so he can be here and we can get it on camera."

"Okay, Taeyeon _unnie_." Mimi said, strength coming back into her voice.

There was a lot of whispering between the Soshis and some talking off to the side figuring out some minor wrinkles they wanted to throw in. Hai actually joined them as well, and as I came over too, I found that he had a cool idea that we quickly decided to use.

Less than ten minutes later, Sneaky looked like he was finishing the game in his favor.

"Ooh, are we good to go? Is Sneaky's team winning?" Seohyun asked.

"Yep, we got it!" Sneaky replied. "All right, watch out, coming with the camera."

He exited the postgame lobby and then unattached the stream camera from the top of the laptop but kept it plugged in and brought it over. He informed us, "Okay, camera's in position. Could someone check it and make sure it's still working?"

Hyoyeon went over to the laptop and confirmed that it was still working. She said, "It's working, Sneaky. Hit it, Tae _noona!_ "

Taeyeon cleared her throat and then began without any accompaniment, with Seohyun following. As they sang, Mimi reached out to Sunny and Yuri on either side of her, and they took her hands. They then supported her as she pulled herself up so that she was sitting upright.

 _[Taeyeon] Jeonhae jugo shipeo seulpeun shigani  
Da heuteojin hueya deullijiman  
[Seohyun] Nuneul gamkko neukkyeo bwa umjigineun maeum  
Neoreul hyanghan nae nunppicheul_

 _ **English**_ _  
[Taeyeon] I want to tell you, even though  
The sad times have already passed  
[Seohyun] Close your eyes and feel my moved heart  
My gaze at you_

"Ay yo, GG, where you at, fam!" Hai called. As he finished, he then began to make a beat by clapping his hands and slapping his thighs – _boom-clap-boom-boom-clap_ – in time with the regular tempo of _Into The New World_. All of us quickly joined in with except for Sneaky since he was still holding the camera.

"Right here, Hai!" Sunny answered brightly.

"Surprise!" Yoona cheered.

"So Nyuh Shi Dae Fighting!" Hyoyeon shouted.

"Girls' Generation, baby!" Tiffany said with a wink.

"Cloud 9 in the house!" Yuri cheered, smiling at Jessica, Aurora, Sneaky, Hai and me.

"Oh yeah!" I whooped. "Back at it again!"

"You want a reason to sing, fight and believe, call our names. We'll help get you there." Jessica said, smiling at Mimi and then waving at the camera.

"Oh yes, we will!" Sooyoung agreed fervently.

"Aurora, you ready?" Jessica asked.

"Ready, _unnie_." Aurora answered.

Jessica smiled back and counted her in: " _Hana, dul, hana, dul, set, net!"_

They then continued the first verse together, followed by Yuri, Tiffany and Sunny:

 _[Jessica/Aurora] Teukbyeolhan gijeogeul gidariji ma  
Nunapeseon uriye geochin gireun  
[Yuri] Al su eomneun miraewa byeok bakkuji ana  
Pogihal su eopseo_  
 _[Tiffany] Byeonchi aneul sarangeuro jikyeo jweo_  
 _Sangcheo ibeun nae mamkkaji_  
 _[Sunny] Shiseon sogeseo mareun piryo eopseo_  
 _Meomchweojeo beorin i shigan_

 _ **English**_ _  
[Jessica/Aurora] Don't wait for a special miracle  
There's a rough road in front of us  
[Yuri] With unknowable future and obstacles, I won't change  
I can't give up  
[Tiffany] Protect me with an unchanged love  
Also my wounded heart  
[Sunny] Looking in your eyes, no words are needed  
Time has stopped_

The fact that it was acapella with the only accompaniment being the beat that we were making by clapping and slapping our legs like a step team or like something out of _Stomp_ made it feel even more invigorating somehow, like a war chant.

Mimi had been watching all of us with wide eyes, her gaze going from singer to singer as something almost visibly stirred within her. When the chorus started, she summoned it, regained her full voice and joined in. All eleven girls sang together,

 _Saranghae neol i neukkim idaero  
Geuryeo watteon hemaeime kkeut  
I sesang sogeseo banbokttweneun  
Seulpeum ijen annyeong  
Sumaneun al su eomneun gil soge  
Himihan bicheul nan jjochaga  
Eonjekkajirado hamkkehaneun geoya  
Dashi mannan naye sege_

 _ **English**_ _  
I love you just like this  
The longed end of wandering  
I leave behind this world's  
Unending sadness  
In the many unknowable paths  
I follow a dim light  
It's something we'll do together to the end  
Into my new world_

 _"Whoo!"_ Tiffany cheered. Everyone broke out into applause, with Mimi clapping the hardest.

"Oh, my God, that was too cool. Way to go, everyone!" I said, feeling chills.

"Mimi fighting!" Seohyun said cheerfully, beaming at her. "You were awesome!"

"Thank you so much!" Mimi replied, getting high-fives and hugs from all of us. After a minute, a lady wearing a lab coat, stethoscope and ID came in, and we parted ranks to let her come alongside the bed.

"Dr. Ryder!" Mimi said. "Was that okay? Were we too loud?"

"No, it was beautiful, Mimi!" Dr. Ryder said, smiling at her. She then turned to the rest of us and said, "Thank you all so much for that...she's really been brave in the midst of all this."

"Can I go to the SAP Center tomorrow?" Mimi asked. "I know I'm still getting better, but I need to be there to watch the _unnies_ and _oppas_ win again."

We all smiled at that around her. Dr. Ryder replied, "It may be a challenge, but we should be able to manage something. We may even be able to get the entire ward there."

"Yo, I heard what you said. We'll smack 'em tomorrow for you guys." Hai told Mimi, giving her hand a squeeze.

"I know you can, Hai _oppa_." Mimi replied. "I'm counting on you, but I believe in you guys!"

* * *

The following day, Mary, Mimi and their fellow patients had been driven down to the SAP Center and were in second-row seats. The audience was also a sellout crowd, both because we were there and because they anticipated another Girls' Generation/Cloud 9 collaboration right there. We all smiled to ourselves because they were going to get that but still had little to no idea of just what we would be aiming to do.

We all wore steel blue button-down shirts – in Hai's, Sneaky's, Balls', Meteos', Aurora's and my cases, over our jerseys. These were what we called our dress uniform shirts. Similar to our outfits for the Summoner's Cup presentation and finale performance, each Soshi's shirt, including Jessica's, had the blue Cloud 9 logo over one breast pocket and the pink GG Crown logo over the other. Neatly arranged on the sleeves were white bar sponsor patches, and every C9 player, coach and manager also had a black patch with the Worlds logo and the year 2014 on it, signifying that we were the winners. One more white bar sponsor patch had been added in all of our cases, and it was the logo of Blanc. In one more cool twist, we as a team had offered to advertise some of Jessica's new clothes, and she had enthusiastically accepted and come up with the idea to design our dress uniform shirts, which we wouldn't be wearing all the time but as a change of pace and for situations where we wanted to look just a bit more put together.

It was evident by looking at us that she'd thought of some minor options that already gave quite a bit of variety. To start, some were short-sleeved while others were long-sleeved. Also, the type that some including Jessica, Lemon and Taeyeon had was like a regular dress shirt since they wanted to tuck it in, while the type that others including Yuri, Sneaky and I were wearing had a fly front placket, which has a flatter bottom in the front, since we weren't tucking ours in.

Similar to how we and TSM had entered for our Worlds semifinal, we would enter through the back down the aisles through the crowd. Jessica, Tiffany, Hai, Taeyeon, Aurora, Yuri, LemonNation and I would come down one aisle, while Yoona, Sneaky, Meteos, Sooyoung, Sunny, Balls, Seohyun and Hyoyeon would come down the other.

Onstage, Sjokz was saying, "Ladies and gentlemen, the time has come. They are the Season 4 World Champions and still hungry for more in their first event of Season 5. Please welcome Cloud 9!"

Thre crowd cheered at that but then quieted as a brief teaser clip began playing on the video screens of the eight of us putting on the dress uniform shirts, with the camera panning to each of us even though it didn't show any markings or logos. Finally, it went to Hai, who was putting his on over his jersey and asking Jessica, "Do I look all right?" It was then that people could see the Cloud 9 logo on the shirt.

"Don't worry, you all look great! All right, let's get this started – everyone's waiting for us." She answered.

Then it showed us leaving to head towards the stage, and the camera then revealed the new Blanc sponsor marking to reveal just who had been making the shirts.

"What music are we entering with, _unnie_?" Aurora asked as the teaser finished.

"You're about to find out." Jessica answered with a grin. "I don't think you'll mind one bit, though."

Just a few seconds later, the opening of _Gee_ hit.

"Oh, my God." I said as the crowd recognized it and revved up. "This is gonna be sick!"

"We had to do it sometime, and today was as good a time as any. Not that we mind, of course!" Taeyeon said with a smile.

"Hey, neither do we!" Hai said, beaming. "It's about to get serious – as in seriously crazy!"

"You're not kidding!" Aurora said. "Once I start moving, I don't know if I'm gonna be able to stop. I'm that hyped now."

 _[Tiffany] Uh-huh, listen, boy  
My first love story (Ooh-ah-ah, ooh-ah-ah, yeah)  
[Jessica] My angel and my girls  
My sunshine (Uh, uh, let's go!)_

"Let's get 'em!" Jessica told us, now beaming.

The other seven of us smiled back and followed her down, and the crowd grew louder and louder as they realized just what we were doing. At the same time, Yoona was leading the other column down. As the crowd discovered that all sixteen of us were there and heading towards the stage, more waves of energy almost visibly swept through the crowd. For a moment, I was afraid that we had almost gotten them _too_ fired up and that one of them was going to grab hold of us and try and pull us out, but thankfully, it didn't happen.

 _[Seohyun] Neomuneomu meotjeo nuni nuni busheo  
Sumeul mot shwigesseo tteollineungeol  
[All] Gee Gee, Gee Gee, baby, baby, baby  
Gee Gee, Gee Gee, baby, baby, baby  
[Tiffany] Oh neomu bukkeureoweo cheodabol su eopseo  
Sarange ppajeoseo sujubeungeol_  
 _[All] Gee Gee, Gee Gee, baby, baby, baby  
Gee Gee, Gee Gee, baby, baby, baby_

 _ **English**_ _  
[Seohyun] You're so, so handsome, I'm blinded  
I can't breathe because I'm trembling  
[All] Gee Gee, Gee Gee, baby, baby, baby  
Gee Gee, Gee Gee, baby, baby, baby  
[Tiffany] Oh, I feel embarassed, I can't look at you  
I feel embarassed because I've fallen in love_  
 _[All] Gee Gee, Gee Gee, baby, baby, baby  
Gee Gee, Gee Gee, baby, baby, baby_

Judging from the reactions of the fans as we made the journey to the stage, they were all some combination of flabbergasted and ecstatic. They were screaming things like,

"Yo, this is insane! Again?!"

"Oh, my God, it's Hai! It's Taeyeon! Lemon! Aurora! Jessica!"

"Go get 'em today! Show 'em why you're World Champions!"

"Hey, we will, man!" Hai said, slapping hands with that fan. "We're all locked and loaded today!" He looked back at Taeyeon as he finished.

"Yes, we are!" She said, also high-fiving the same fan.

 _[Sunny] (Eotteoke hajo)  
[Yoona] Eotteok-eotteokajo  
[Sunny] (Tteollineun naneun)  
[Yoona] Tteollineun naneunyo  
[Sunny] (Dugeundugeun dugeundugeun)  
[Yoona] Dugeundugeungeoryeo  
[Sunny/Yoona] Bamen jamdo mot irujo_  
 _[Jessica] Naneun naneun babonga bwayo_  
 _Geudae geudaebakke moreuneun babo_  
 _Geuraeyo geudael boneun nan_

 _ **English**_ _  
[Sunny] (What should I do?)  
[Yoona] What should I do?  
[Sunny] (About my trembling heart?)  
[Yoona] My trembling heart  
[Sunny] (Thump thump)  
[Yoona] My heart keeps thumping  
[Sunny/Yoona] So I can't fall asleep at night_  
 _[Jessica] I guess I'm a fool_  
 _A fool that knows only you  
Yes, as I look at you_

Hai, Sneaky, Meteos, Balls, Lemon, Jessica, Aurora and I hit the stage just as the chorus hit and saluted the crowd, with Jessica and Aurora even having a bit more fun and throwing in the shuffle straight out of _Gee_ on beat. Looking out at the crowd, we could see the crowd dancing too as well as cheering. It was a full-blown party atmosphere, but at the same time, we all also knew they were excitedly awaiting some action. In our eyes, that was the message we wanted to send – if we had our way, we were going to kick butt while having fun and putting on a great show.

We then looked at the front two rows – at the Soshis in the front row and then at the kids including Mimi and Mary in the row just behind. Their faces were also lit up, and they were cheering and pointing at us, and that gave us more energy than anything else we saw in the audience.

 _[All] Neomu banjjakbanjjak nuni busheo, no, no, no, no, no  
Neomu kkamjjakkamjjak nollan naneun, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh  
Neomu jjaritjarit momi tteollyeo, Gee, Gee, Gee, Gee, Gee  
Oh jeojeun nunppit, oh yeah  
Oh joeun hyanggi, oh yeah, yeah, yeah_

 _ **English**_  
 _[All] So bright my eyes are blinded, no, no, no, no, no  
I'm so surprised, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh  
So excited, my body is trembling, Gee, Gee, Gee, Gee, Gee  
Oh, glittering eyes, oh yeah  
Oh, sweet scent, oh yeah, yeah, yeah_

Before everyone took their stations, we came down from the stage and all sixteen of us huddled up again.

"This is it, guys. Start of the new _League_ season, and more importantly, the stakes have been raised because these kids haven't been scared to go all in when they've had their backs against the wall." Hai said.

"Absolutely." Taeyeon said. "I don't know about you, but while we're gladly keeping all of those kids in our minds and hearts today, I can't help but think back to what Mimi said."

We all nodded, getting the message. Yoona responded, "Yeah, she wanted to be here so she could see her _unnies_ and _oppas_ win again. And she _is_ here along with the whole ward, so now it's up to us."

"You got that right, Yoona." Jessica said. "Listen, let's make sure we stay locked in and own that stage but also make sure to have fun. Let's also make sure we're playing to win instead of playing not to lose, because if we do that, then we'll pay the price anyway – and besides, that wouldn't suit us, would it?"

"You bet your life it wouldn't, Jessica!" Lemon replied. "All right, first things first – UOL. They're going to try and make it crazy, but I don't think they're ready for another team who also likes to get funky in more ways than one."

* * *

These were the rosters of the four semifinal teams, including us, as we'd looked them over earlier. There'd been quite a bit of buzz when Rekkles had joined Alliance from Fnatic and when TSM had brought in Lustboy from CJ Entus Blaze and Santorin from Team Coast, and those would have been the big offseason move stories of the tournament but for the fact that Jessica was also our new consulting manager.

 ** _Cloud 9 (North America)_**  
Top - Carlo (Phillip Carlo Santos, USA)  
Jungle - Meteos (Will Hartman, USA)  
Mid - Hai (Hai Du Lam, USA)  
AD Carry - Sneaky (Zach Scuderi, USA)  
Support - Aurora (Carolina Aurora Lea, Canada)  
Substitute - Balls (An Van Le, USA)  
Coach - LemonNation (Daerek Hart, USA) ** _  
_**Manager - Jessica (Jessica Jung / Jung Sooyeon, USA)

 ** _Unicorns of Love (Europe)_**  
Top - Visiczacsi (Tamás Kiss, Hungary)  
Jungle - Kikis (Mateusz Szkudlarek, Poland)  
Mid - PowerOfEvil (Tristan Schrage, Germany)  
AD Carry - Vardags (Pontus Dahlbom, Sweden)  
Support - Hylissang (Zdravets Galabov, Bulgaria)  
Substitute - Gilius (Berk Demir, Germany)  
Coach - Sheepy (Fabian Mallant, Germany)  
Manager - Khagnerur (Romain Bigeard, France)

 ** _Alliance (Europe)_**  
Top - Wickd (Mike Petersen, Denmark)  
Jungle - Shook (Ilyas Hartesma, Netherlands)  
Mid - Froggen (Henrik Hansen, Denmark)  
AD Carry - Rekkles (Martin Larsson, Sweden)  
Support - Nyph (Patrick Funke, Germany)  
Substitute - Tabzz (Erik van Helvert, Netherlands)  
Coach - Leviathan (Jordan Thwaites, Canada)  
Manager - Maelk (Jacob Toft-Andersen, Germany)

 ** _Team SoloMid (North America)_**  
Top - Dyrus (Marcus Hill, USA)  
Jungle - Santorin (Lucas Larsen, Denmark)  
Mid - Bjergsen (Søren Bjerg, Denmark)  
AD Carry - WildTurtle (Jason Tran, Canada)  
Support - Lustboy (Ham Jangsik, South Korea)  
Substitute - Xpecial (Alex Chu, USA)  
Coach - Locodoco (Choi Yoonsub, South Korea)  
Manager - Leena (Leena Xu, USA)

I then went backstage with Jessica and LemonNation as we had elected to start Balls against the Unicorns, who had just qualified for the EU LCS and been the fan-voted European team for IEM San Jose. They'd won the previous day with some unconventional picks including jungle Kayle, so we stuck to more comfort picks since we knew more matchups with them, including less familiar ones. All of us – especially Lemon, Jessica and Hai – had also put a high importance on picking Syndra when possible. It was a double whammy – not only did it deny PowerOfEvil one of his signature champions, but there was the obvious Girls' Generation parallel with _Hoot_ as the dance for Classic Syndra, so there were both practical and fun sides to it.

Balls visibly relished getting to play again onstage, bullying Visiczacsi's Hecarim with Maokai during a victory in Game 1 of the best-of-3. Watching happily backstage, we saw how especially excited Sunny was in the crowd as the other players came backstage. We congratulated them heartily before Balls handed me back the reins for Game 2. There, Hai got the chance to pick Syndra, and we could see the Soshis and also some of the fans including Mimi and Mary doing moves from _Hoot_ during champion select, and it became his turn to thrill the crowd – especially Taeyeon – as he carried Game 2 with a 6/0/4 KDA.

The kids and the fans were then in for another surprise before the second semifinal between Alliance and Team SoloMid. Michal "Carmac" Blicharz, the head of ESL – the organizer of IEM – had been in contact with us during our visit to Lucile Packard and had offered us the chance to play a Dominion game to benefit the hospital, and we had quickly and happily accepted. Hai, Aurora, Taeyeon, Tiffany, Jessica and I had already been asked to play in an OGN pro/celebrity showmatch before the start of the 2015 Spring Split, so we excluded ourselves. From there, the other ten of us quickly sorted themselves into teams – Sneaky, Meteos, Yoona, Sooyoung and Seohyun would be the blue side team, while Lemon, Balls, Sunny, Yuri and Hyoyeon would be the red side team. As a further tribute to the kids, they had been given the bulk of the picking power, as they each voted on champions for both teams to play. It wound up being a thrilling game that also brought the crowd to its feet, including Yoona winning a crucial 1v1 as Ahri against Yuri's Syndra that allowed them to take the Quarry and stay in the game before they made the game-winning push that was not led by Meteos or Sneaky but by her and Sooyoung as Shyvana. The six of us who would be playing on OGN were going nuts as well on the commentary and analysis desks, where we had joined the casters for the match and were chipping in.

We all thoroughly enjoyed the showmatch and the chance to raise even more money for the hospital, but we quickly refocused afterwards as the second semifinal, which would determine our opponent, started. It ended up being a match where the existing chemistry of Alliance, which was greater than that of TSM (only one change to Alliance compared to two for TSM) won out. However, while we were impressed with Alliance and respected them – especially Froggen, who is one of my favorite European players because of his willingness to experiment – we certainly weren't intimidated.

Balls led off again, and we elected not to ban Froggen's signature Anivia because Hai was confident he could play against it – and more importantly, we could plan and play around it. It didn't pay off in Game 1 of the best-of-5 finals, though, as Wickd got a sizable advantage over Balls when he had an off game. He told us not to deviate from our plan too much, though, putting the blame for the 1-0 deficit squarely on his shoulders. I helped us take Game 2 with another good Leona game, but I was frankly more worried about Balls in Game 3 because I knew he badly wanted to redeem himself and not go 0-2 in the finals – but he managed to do just that with a surprise Elise pick, going back to one of his favorites from the previous year. He then tagged me back in with a big and relieved smile, and I proceeded to pull out Lissandra as a surprise for Jessica as Hai went back to Zed. I played well and went unkilled, but not as well as Sneaky, who played Corki and racked up his first career pentakill to clinch the game and the championship.

The best moment was still to come, though. We had a talk backstage before the award ceremony, and when we were handed the winner's check for $25,000, Jessica and Hai called the children to the stage and passed the check to them, explaining that we were donating it to the Packard Children's Hospital to help pay for their treatment and the treatment of others in their position. We had understood that our mission in San Jose had also become a mission of mercy – something that Girls' Generation also understood completely, as they joined us and Tiffany announced on behalf of the group that they planned to match the contribution. It made everyone onstage, even the vanquished players, stand up, applaud and cheer, and we felt a flash of the incredibly warm, empowering feeling we'd experienced after the Worlds final and in Tiffany's and my dream of Taeyeon and Hai's wedding – like we'd continued to give hope to people. It was then that we really started congratulating each other and celebrating another job well done.

"There we are!" Sunny said brightly, taking the trophy that had been passed around and handing it to Mimi. "Here's the trophy from today, Mimi!"

"Ooh..." Mimi said, taking the small crystal trophy. "It's pretty...but it's not as pretty as you, Sunny _unnie_. But thank you so much for today...it was so much fun last night and today and it made everything we went through worth it."

"Ah, Mimi, you're far too kind!" Sunny replied, giving her a hug and pulling out a pen and a piece of paper. "Listen, if you ever want to talk to me, here's how you can..."

 ** _Rap_**  
 _[Yuri (originally Yubin)] Hit me one time baby dasi hanbeon (Tell me, tell me)  
Okay banggeumhan geon aljiman tto hanbeon (Tell me, tell, tell me)  
[Yuri/Hyoyeon (originally Yubin)] Gyesok malhaejwo deureodo deureodo deutgo sipeo  
Eojjeom ireon iri kkuminga sipeo  
(Omona!) Omona! Johaseo eojjeona  
(Dasi hanbeon malhaebwa) Baby baby! _

**_Rap – English_**  
 _[Yuri (originally Yubin)] Hit me one time baby, one more time (Tell me, tell me)  
Okay, I know what you did just now, but once more (Tell me, tell, tell me)  
[Yuri/Hyoyeon (originally Yubin)] Yeah, keep telling me, even if I heard, I wanna hear it again  
Sometimes I wonder if this is a dream  
(Oh my!) Oh my! I like it, what do I do?  
(Say it again) Baby baby!_

 _[All] Tell me, tell me, tell, tell, tell, tell, tell, tell me  
[Taeyeon (originally Yeeun)] Nareul saranghandago nal gidaryeo watdago  
[All] Tell me, tell me, tell, tell, tell, tell, tell, tell, tell me  
[Taeyeon (originally Yeeun)] naega pillyohada malhae malhaejwoyo  
[All] Tell me, tell me, tell, tell, tell, tell, tell, tell me  
[Jessica (originally Sunye)] Jakkuman deutgo sipeo gyesok naege malhaejwo  
[All] Tell me, tell me, tell, tell, tell, tell, tell, tell, tell me  
[Jessica (originally Sunye)] Kkumi anirago malhae malhaejwoyo_

 _ **English**_ _  
[All] Tell me, tell me, tell, tell, tell, tell, tell, tell me  
[Taeyeon (originally Yeeun)] That you love me and that you waited for me  
[All] Tell me, tell me, tell, tell, tell, tell, tell, tell, tell me  
[Taeyeon (originally Yeeun)] Say you need me  
[All] Tell me, tell me, tell, tell, tell, tell, tell, tell me  
[Jessica (originally Sunye)] I want to hear it all the time, say it to me again  
[All] Tell me, tell me, tell, tell, tell, tell, tell, tell, tell me  
[Jessica (originally Sunye)] Say it's not a dream_

* * *

As we waited at Mineta Airport to board our flight back to Los Angeles, Tiffany was at the gate window, looking out at the rapidly darkening sky as stars began to come out. She was saying with a wistful but sincere smile,

"Mom, I could feel you watching us again yesterday and today...I know you'd have loved what I and my adopted family did in San Jose...not just the girls who have been my adopted sisters for a long time, but another sister from Canada and six boys from here...five who are like my brothers already and one who's the one I love."

Seeing and hearing her, I closed my laptop and came over quietly, following her gaze in contemplation.

"Please keep watching over us all, because I know they all have my back and I couldn't be more thankful for that."

"We all do, Fany _noona_." I said, taking her hand reassuringly. I then added, fearful I'd intruded, "I'm sorry if I came in at a bad time."

"No, don't worry, I don't mind. In fact, you didn't come too soon at all." She replied with a smile.

"Is it okay if I talk to her too?" I asked.

"Of course! I know she would like that...Mom, this is Carlo, the boy I was telling you about." She said, turning back to the window, and she took my shoulders supportively. I took a deep breath and organized my thoughts and words as best as I could and said,

"Mrs. Hwang, I may never get to meet you in this world, but I know you must have been an incredible woman, because Tiffany's an incredible young lady, not just a great idol, and she's never forgotten you. Tiffany's trust in Cloud 9 is something we treasure and we'll do our best as more of her adopted North American siblings...I know I also want to be someone who you would have given your blessing to if I asked for it...someone you would have been proud to have as your son."

"Oh, Carlo..." Tiffany said, hearing that and giving me a slow but firm hug. "Thank you very much...I know she would have loved to meet you and give you her blessing when the time came."

"Hey, least I could do...but thanks." I said, hugging her back.

Meanwhile, Sneaky had come over and asked, "You taking a moment for your mom, Tiffany _noona_?"

"Yeah. Don't worry, I'm okay, but thanks for checking on me." Tiffany replied. She then had a thought as she looked at him and asked, "Did you want to say hello to her?"

"Actually, yeah." Sneaky replied. He looked out and said, "Mrs. Hwang, I just wanted to say thanks for bringing Tiffany _noona_ into this world and raising her like you did, because it's been an honor for us to be her friends – her adopted brothers and sisters. Also, if you see him, could you say hello to my dad too for us? My sister Emma was telling me she misses him."

"You lost your dad, Sneaky?" Tiffany asked, looking at him sympathetically.

"Yeah, just before we made our LCS debut." Sneaky replied. "So it's been about a year and a half."

"He'd be proud of you, you know." Tiffany told him as I nodded firmly.

Sneaky nodded back, smiling gratefully. Yoona, who'd come over as well, laid a hand on his shoulder and said gently, "Just be thankful he was there, Sneaky. Not all of us are that lucky."

Tiffany nodded somberly. She explained to Sneaky, both to fill him in and to spare Yoona from having to tell him herself, "Yoona's mother left her family when she was very little. She grew up without her."

"Oh, what the f**k?" Sneaky asked, looking at Yoona. When she nodded somberly, he said, "Oh, my God...I'm sorry. You must think I'm a little s**t for getting a little sad when he was at least there."

"No, it's okay." Yoona said reassuringly. Then she smiled at him and said, "You mentioned you have a sister...what's she like?"

"Oh, Emma's great. I think you'd like meeting her, Yoona." Sneaky said, smiling back. "There was a week where she came out to watch us play and basically became our mascot for the week..."

They continued talking as they went off by themselves. We went over to Hai, Taeyeon, Jessica and Aurora, passing the others along the way, who were talking about the showmatch, the tournament and the upcoming video shoot. As we approached, we heard the four of them talking animatedly.

"Wow, that sounds like some wedding reception!" Hai was saying.

"Yeah, it was the best dream either of us had had in a long time." Jessica said.

"You two looked so amazing, so in love!" Aurora added.

"I'd love to make that a reality someday – I certainly wouldn't turn down getting married in Hawaii." Taeyeon said, as she and Hai snuggled up to each other. "Do you remember what we were wearing?"

Tiffany and I raised our eyebrows and grinned at each other. Tiffany spoke up at that moment and told them,

"Let me guess. Pink dresses for the girls, blue tuxes with white vests for the boys – with the exception of Carlo who has a _barong Tagalog_ since he's Filipino – an all white tux for Hai and a white dress with pink gloves for TaeTae?"

Jessica and Aurora looked at her, thunderstruck. Hai and Taeyeon also looked surprised.

"How the heck did you know?!" Aurora asked.

"We got a glimpse on the fight to LA after Worlds." Tiffany replied, indicating her and me. "But it wasn't the reception – it was the ceremony."

"Oh!" Taeyeon said, her surprised smile shared by Hai, Aurora and Jessica. "Could you two tell us what you saw?"

"Gladly!" Tiffany said as we sat down next to them. "One question first – Jessi, Aurora, what song was playing at the reception in your dreams?"

"One from our debut album." Jessica replied. "Carlo, Aurora, do you remember _Ooh La-La!_?"

"Oh, I've heard it – that's a good one!" I said. Aurora also nodded and smiled, and I quickly pulled it up on my iPhone and let it play through my headset while it hung around my neck as we once again put together a shared vision of the future, happy and thankful that we knew we had the power to make it a reality.

 _[Yuri] Juwireul dulleobwa  
[Seohyun] Meotjin wangjanim_  
 _[Jessica] Naneun gongjunim  
[Jessica/Seohyun] Modudeul urireul chukahaeyo  
[All] Ooh-la-la! Naneun ajigeun eorijiman  
[Tiffany/Seohyun] Geudaeye jonjaereul mideoyo  
Dan han myeonge namane wangjanimeul  
[All] Ooh-la-la! Geudaemane gongju dwellaeyo  
[Jessica/Hyoyeon] Geudaeyege jal eoullil  
Nan gongjuga dwellae  
[All] Geurae Ooh-la-la!  
[Jessica] Ooh-la-la! Ooh, what a feeling!_

 _ **English**_  
 _[Yuri] Look around  
[Seohyun] Handsome prince_  
 _[Jessica] I'm the princess  
[Jessica/Seohyun] Everyone is congratulating us  
[All] Ooh-la-la! Although I am still young  
[Tiffany/Seohyun] I believe in your existence  
My one and only prince  
[All] Ooh-la-la! I want to become your princess  
[Jessica/Hyoyeon] The one who will go well with you  
I want to become a princess  
[All] Yes, Ooh-la-la!  
[Jessica] Ooh-la-la! Ooh, what a feeling!_

* * *

 _ **Closing Author's Notes**_ _  
Whew! And with that, that's the end of the regular portion of_ _Brioso_ _. I'll mark the story as complete as a result, but I may add on extra stuff – namely, bonus scenes (from Seasons 5 and 6, or outside the story's timeline) or deleted scenes (scenes I could have included or expanded on but didn't.) Usual rules apply – reviews welcome, but no flaming because you're not a fan of Girls' Generation, Cloud 9 or North American_ _League_ _. Also would like to thank those who have given me feedback here, on Twitch and elsewhere – it's been a real pleasure putting this together for people like you. Also would like to recommend tuning into Twitch for the all the action before and leading into BlizzCon, because there's more going on than you can shake a stick at in so many games!_


End file.
